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Dreams and Well-Being

Susan A. Gilchrist

July 2013

Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Human Sciences) at the University

of Tasmania

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Statement of originality

I declare that this thesis is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it does not contain material from published sources without proper acknowledgement, nor does it contain material which has been accepted for the award of any other higher degree or graduate diploma in any university.

signed: ______

Sue Gilchrist, July, 2013

This thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying in accordance with the

Copyright Act, 1968.

Signed: ______

Sue Gilchrist, July 2013

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Contents

Acknowledgements vii

Papers, conference presentations and other presentations emanating from the research viii

List of Tables ix

Abstract 1

Introduction 3

Chapter 1. Literature on Dreaming 6

Defining dreams 6

Functions of dreams in relation to well-being 7

Function of dreams 7

Well-being 19

Emotion in dreams 23

Themes in dreams 25

Working with dreams 27

Chapter 2. Dream Emotions, Waking Emotions, Personality Characteristics

And Well-being: A positive psychology approach. 28

Dream emotions, personality characteristics and well-being

research 28

Dreaming and Waking emotions 31

First Study – Hypotheses 33

Method 34

Participants 34

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Materials 35

Procedure 38

Results 39

Discussion 47

Conclusion 51

Chapter 3. Intra-Individual Relationships between Waking and

Dream Emotions 53

Literature Review 53

Second Study - Method 57

Participants 57

Materials 58

Procedure 58

Results 58

Discussion 64

Conclusion 66

Chapter 4. Approaching Therapeutic Dreamwork 69

Defining Dreamwork 70

Psychoanalytical – Freudian 73

Jungian 73

Gestalt 74

Behavioural Therapy 75

Lucid dreaming 76

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Imagery Rehearsal Therapy 77

Hypnotherapy – pre-sleep instructions 77

Dreamwork group facilitation 79

Group roles 81

Communication 81

Participant safety 82

Ethics in dreamwork 83

Chapter 5. The Role of Dreamwork Sessions in Improving

Waking Well-being 85

Dreams as Guidance throughout History 86

Dreams and Cognition: Functionality in dreams 87

Working with Dreamwork Groups 89

Theoretical Background to the Current Dreamwork Groups 97

Third Study - Method 104

Participants 104

Materials 105

Procedure 106

Dreamwork process 109

Trustworthiness of qualitative research 112

Results 114

Quantitative well-being measures 121

Discussion 123

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Chapter 6. Dreamwork Case Studies and Participants’ Experiences 129

Ground Rules 129

Individual Case Studies 130

Chapter 7. General Summary and Conclusion 140

Limitations of the Research 143

Future Directions 145

Conclusion 147

References 148

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many grateful thanks to all my research participants your contributions were essential and invaluable, there could not be a thesis without you.

I would like to acknowledge the assistance of Sarah Staats and Dave Watson in providing guidance on the scoring of the Staats Hope Scale and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule respectively, and Mark Blechner for information on his use of the Ullman approach with Student Analysts.

At the University of Tasmania Shayne Lynch, Glenn Bilsborrow and Rod Garton for discussions around categorising emotions, Hartmann’s shortened boundary questionnaire, and dreams in parapsychology; Sabrina Maeder and Sally Cooper for assistance with statistical analyses and interpretation; Sarah Parish for data entry; Dr. Elaine Hart for advice on safeguarding participant’s mental health; Dr. Ted Thompson for guidance on positive psychology; and Dr. Frances Martin for support, advice and seeing a route forward in the last furlong when I was ready to concede defeat.

I am extremely grateful to Dr. John Davidson, my primary supervisor who, despite retirement, continued to supervise me throughout my candidature; his advice, support, guidance and patience were invaluable as was his knowledge of dream research and statistical expertise.

Also my associate supervisor Associate Professor Jane Shakespeare-Finch of QUT who, even at a distance, managed to repeatedly resurrect my enthusiasm, self-belief and sense of humour as well as providing a depth of knowledge on qualitative research, positive psychology and more practical input without which I would still be adrift, many thanks for all your support.

My employers Relationships Australia Tasmania for providing study leave, especially my former manager, Roseanne Brumby for her unfailing encouragement and support.

Finally, to my family and friends in Australia and in the UK who have supported my endeavours, especially Carol Ramsay, Pat Fairhurst, Margaret Scott, Annette Thomas, Helen Scarr and Vivienne Davey who never doubted my ability to finish what I had started and kept reminding me of that fact.

Thank you all.

Sue Gilchrist

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Papers, conference presentations and other presentations emanating from the research

contained in this thesis.

Chapter 2:

Gilchrist, S., Davidson, J., & Shakespeare-Finch, J. (2006). Dream emotions, waking emotions, personality characteristics and well-being – preliminary findings. International Association for the Study of Dreams Conference, Bridgewater, Mass., USA

Gilchrist, S., Davidson, J., & Shakespeare-Finch, J. (2007). Dream emotions, waking emotions,

personality characteristics and well-being – a positive psychology approach. Dreaming, 17,

172-185.

Chapter 5:

Gilchrist, S., Shakespeare-Finch, J., & Davidson, J. (2009). The Role of Dream-work in

Improving Well-being. Paper presented at the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of

Australia Conference, Canberra.

Gilchrist, S., Shakespeare-Finch, J., & Davidson, J. (2010). The Benefits of Dream-work for

Waking Well-being. Paper presented at the University of Tasmania Cradle Coast Post-graduate

Conference, Burnie.

Chapter 6:

Gilchrist, S. (2010 & 2012) The use of dreamwork in therapy. Counsellor training seminar for

Relationships Australia Tasmania.

Gilchrist, S. (2013) The use of dreamwork in therapy. Counsellor training workshops, Carlisle,

Cumbria, UK.

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List of Tables

Table 2.1 Breakdown of all Participants in Study 1 into Age Groupings. 35

Table 2.2 Means and Standard Deviations of Emotional Categories in Dreaming and Waking Conditions. 41 Table 2.3 Correlations Between Personality Characteristics and Ratings of Positive and Negative Dream Emotions Averaged Over a Three-Week Period. 42 Table 2.4 Correlations Between Waking Emotions (averaged over three weeks) and Dream Emotions (also averaged over three weeks). 44 Table 2.5 Regression Analyses Predicting Dream Emotions from Personality Characteristics and Waking Emotions. 46 Table 3.1 Summary of Intra-individual Correlations Between Negative Emotion

Ratings for Waking Day and Subsequent Dreams (rwd), and Dreams

With Following Day (rfd), and the Number of Ratings on Which the Correlations are Based. 60 Table 3.2 Summary of Intra-individual Correlations Between Positive

Emotion Ratings for Waking Day and Subsequent Dreams (rwd),

and Dreams With Following Day (rfd), and the Number of Ratings on Which the Correlations are Based. 61 Table 3.3 Summary of Intra-individual Correlations Between Total Negative Emotion Ratings and Total Positive Emotion Ratings for Waking

Day and Subsequent Dreams (rwd), and Dreams with Following

Day (rfd). 62 Table 3.4 Means and Standard Deviations of the Intra-individual Means and Standard Deviations for all Waking and Dreaming Emotions of Participants with at Least 20 Nights of Dream Emotions Recorded. 63 Table 5.1 Key Effects and Frequency of Effects Reported by Participants After Taking Part in a Series of Dreamwork Sessions. 120 Table 5.2 Means and Standard Deviations of Changes in Well-being Measures

(post-test – pre-test) for Dreamwork Participants and Control Group Members. 122

Table 5.3 Well-being Measures t-test for Equality of Means of Change of Scores

Post-testing minus Pre-testing. 123

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING 1

Abstract

Anecdotal evidence abounds of the connection between improved well-being and understanding of one’s own dreams. Unfortunately, evidence often comes from dream workers, dream interpreters, or other people with a particular interest in dreams who cannot be viewed as impartial; the evidence usually does not have a basis in scientific study. The objective of the research and studies reported in this thesis was to bring scientific rigour to the exploration of the effects of dreams on participants. This objective of robustness was achieved across three studies by using longitudinal and cross-sectional, quantitative and qualitative approaches investigating several areas: the source of dreams, contributory factors to the nature of dreams, emotions in dreams and in waking life, and methods for recording dreams. A definition of well-being had to be established, methods found for measuring well-being, methods of working with dreams both individually and in groups, and experiments devised to record any changes in affect attributable to participant’s exploration of their dreams. The first study (N=123) looked at the connection between personality characteristics, waking events, thoughts and emotions, with those experienced in dreams. A strong correlation was found between the emotions experienced in waking life and those present in dreams. Only a few weak relationships were found between dream emotions and well-being measures.

The second study investigated the intra-individual relationship between waking and dream emotions, using data collected from 32 participants over an eight week period.

Analyses were carried out to investigate correlations between waking emotions and the dream emotions experienced that night, and between dream emotions and the waking emotions experienced the following day. The results of this study were inconclusive.

The third study considered the effects of participants working in a facilitated workshop or in one-on-one sessions with a goal of making sense of their dreams in relationship to

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their waking life. This study provided evidence of positive changes in participant’s well-being, particularly in normalisation of participant’s own dreams, better insight and understanding of their own life, and increased awareness and acceptance of their own emotions. Together these studies provide support for the premise that dreams are strongly connected to waking life and that through the use of techniques to interpret and draw learning from one’s dreams, an improvement in well-being can be achieved.

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Introduction

Dreams have fascinated humankind for millennia yet still little is known about the connections between waking life and dream content or the potential relationships between factors such as personality and emotions with the content and emotions of dreams. Less still is known about the efficacy of using dream interpretation and dream journals as a therapeutic tool that may enhance well-being. There is substantial anecdotal evidence for connections between these factors and some empirical evidence about things such as the neurobiological processes involved in dreaming and waking states. However, there is a paucity of research that examines, in a scientifically rigorous fashion, connections between personality and emotions in waking and dreaming or dreams as a therapeutic tool. Therefore this research set about to employ a variety of designs, qualitative and quantitative, longitudinal and cross-sectional, to add to knowledge about dreams and their impact on well-being and importantly, how such knowledge can be applied.

In the first chapter of the thesis some of the more salient dreaming literature is reviewed and perspectives from some of the world’s most preeminent dream researchers are discussed. In the second chapter a cross-sectional study is presented.

This study has been published in the American Psychological Association’s journal

Dreaming, and is acknowledged accordingly. Therefore, literature pertaining to factors specific to this study (e.g., personality characteristics and how they may relate to dreaming) is presented in Chapter 2 as well as the method, results and a discussion of the first study’s findings. In Chapter 3 data from a longitudinal qualitative study of dream diary records are presented. The data qualitatively examine intra-individual relationships between waking and dream emotions. Again a brief review of literature pertaining to this particular study is included to orient the reader to the study rationale.

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Chapter 4 examines dreamwork as an approach to therapeutic practice. In this section of the thesis important aspects for clinicians to be aware of when working within this paradigm are outlined such as guidelines and ethical requirements for dreamwork, in addition to more broad considerations that are pragmatically necessary when planning to run dreamwork groups. Such factors are essential in ensuring participant safety. Following this foundation for practice, Chapter 5 presents the third study in this series: The role of dreamwork sessions in improving waking well-being.

This qualitative study provides a fascinating insight into participants’ experiences in working within a dreamwork approach. Most participants had group experiences of up to 12 weeks duration and a smaller number of participants experienced this approach to promoting psychological well-being in one-to-one sessions. Results supported this approach as a way to gain personal insight, develop reflective skills, and become more aware of the myriad views of others, to name a few.

In Chapter 6 data using a case study approach is presented. In this chapter the in-depth experiences of some of the participants involved in this research is documented. The richness of this data affords an insight into the more idiographic aspects of human experience. The final chapter of the thesis draws these studies together, links to existing literature, and provides some recommendations when working within a dreamwork paradigm as an approach to therapeutic intervention.

Strengths and limitations of the thesis are discussed as well as suggestions for ways forward in this area of research.

In the Introduction it is perhaps relevant to record the conditions under which the South Tasmanian Human Research Ethics Committee gave approval for these studies to take place. When the original research proposal was viewed by the committee they had concerns that the participant’s dreams would be interpreted by the facilitator,

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that the participants were to be told what their dreams meant and that the facilitator would therefore have an undue influence over the participants. The researchers were asked to appear before the committee to fully explain the approach to be used, respond to the committee’s concerns and answer resultant questions. At this meeting, in line with the researcher’s original proposal, the committee were given an undertaking that the dreams would at all times remain the property of the participant themselves; any interpretation of the dreams would be by the participant who may choose to consider suggestions from the facilitator and other group members but that the right to decide which interpretation of their dream was accurate would always remain with the dreamer amd that the data collected would only be used for the purposes stated in the proposal and advised to the participants in writing. It was with these undertakings that ethical approval was granted.

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Chapter 1

Literature on Dreaming

This initial literature review section starts with an historical discussion regarding varying theoretical approaches to understanding the functions of dreams and ends with current neurobiological research. The aim of this section is to provide a broad overview of some of the more salient themes in dreaming research. The concept of well-being is then discussed and defined and is followed by a discussion of common themes in dreams content and their relationship to emotions.

Defining Dreams

Dreams are defined in the Australian Oxford Dictionary (1989, p. 137) as “a series of pictures or events in a sleeping person’s mind”. The New Shorter Oxford

English Dictionary (1993, p. 747) extends the definition “to a series of thoughts, images, sensations, or emotions occurring in the mind during sleep”. The Oxford

Companion to the Mind (1987, p. 201) talks of a dream as “an experience of living in a fantasy world in which things happen, emotions are felt, actions are carried out, people are present, with all the waking sensations coming and going”. Ernest Hartmann, a leading proponent of dream research, talks of a dream as being different to focused waking mental activity in that it is “more perceptual, is less verbal, and has a less intentional quality” (Hartmann, 1998, p. 132). He sees dreaming as a “language in which we express ourselves at certain times” but which is vastly different to waking, thinking and verbal expression (Hartmann, 1998, p. 132). Other researchers expand the explanation to include ... “moving images, based on a significant thought which can be either conscious or unconscious...” (Hearne & Melbourne, 1999, p. 42) Hearne and

Melbourne see dreams like mental pictures and experiences processing along pathways of association which can be both visual and verbal (including puns) where each

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sequence of images is unique to the individual dreamer and can be influenced by external stimuli of touch or sound that can be absorbed and represented in the dream.

Functions of Dreams in Relation to Well-Being

Dreams were recorded in Mesopotamia in cuneiform on tablets of clay as long ago as 3,000 B.C. The ancient Babylonians built temples for Mamu, their goddess of dreams, whilst the ancient Egyptian serapeums and ancient Greek oneireums were temples built specifically for the practice of dream incubation. It was believed that dreams, when interpreted by the oracles, provided guidance for waking life. Dreams were used to find “cures for illness and to make decisions regarding what to do about relationships as well as to predict the future” (Hearne & Melbourne, 1999, p. 14).

Dreams are known to have been relevant to ancient civilisations in China, India, Central

America and the Far East. Within the world’s religions there are numerous mentions of vivid dreams providing guidance; they are a widely recorded phenomenon over millennia in Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Islam and Christianity (Bulkeley, 2007).

The objective of the presented research is to investigate the phenomenon of dreaming in relation to well-being and to explore whether it is possible to enhance a person’s well- being through exploring their dreams.

Functions of Dreams

With a recorded history stretching back more than five thousand years theories about the function of dreams are numerous. The Upanishad philosophy of almost three thousand years ago proposed that the objects and symbols in dreams were an expression of the dreamer’s inner desires (Rock, 2004). In ancient Greece, Aristotle believed that

“dreams could be sensitive indicators of bodily conditions.” (Van de Castle, 1994, p.

64), and thus were a guide to potential physical illness. At the beginning of the 20th

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Century Sigmund Freud suggested that dreams were the expression of desires, usually shameful ones, which social conventions of that time forbad the dreamer to express openly (Freud, 1910). A contemporary belief is that the imagery experienced during dreaming is the brain replaying and analysing waking events to decide which of the multiplicity of information processed during the day needs to be stored and which can be discarded. Some scientists have refined this to view dreams as part of a multilevel system of sleep-dependent learning and memory reprocessing, wherein dreams would be the conscious manifestation of these processes (Stickgold, Hobson, Fosse, & Fosse,

2001, p. 1056). The idea that dreams are connected to events of the day is not new.

For example, Freud proposed in 1910 that “…the material which finds its way into the dream content …is for the most part common both to dream-life and waking-life

(Freud, 1910, p. 28). This theory has been confirmed many times by dream researchers during the last hundred years and the studies reported in chapters 2 and 5 will further examine this as a precursor to exploring the link between dream understanding and improved well-being.

The evolutionary function theory of dreaming (Revonsuo, 2003) proposes that dreams are connected to our pre-historic human ancestors’ self-defensive need to rehearse or replay threat situations. The evolutionary approach subscribes to the belief that all human action is part of the survival function aimed at preserving and extending the species. Revonsuo (2003) draws a distinction between ‘natural’ and ‘invented’ functions of dreaming, the former are biological, and the latter culturally or psychologically derived, suggesting that any supposed functions of dreaming which involve recall and self-reflection are doubtful because the conditions in which these could take place were unlikely to occur for our ancient ancestors. If this is correct and dreams are just a function left-over from our ancient ancestors without a benefit to

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modern day humans other than rehearsing or replaying threat situations, it is unlikely that dreamers would report dream content that was anything but traumatic.

Whilst research has shown that the majority of emotions experienced in dreams tend to be negative (Cartwright et al., 2001) this is not true for many dreamers, especially creative people who have been inspired by their dreams. This assertion is supported by Barrett (2001) who records many examples of positive dreams providing guidance towards positive achievements.

Cartwright posits that dreams may have a mood regulation purpose, that processing negative emotions in sleep may help a person to wake up in a better mood.

Cartwright noted that people suffering from depression or other low-mood disorders, and who wake-up with moods as depressed as when they went to sleep, tend to report bland, emotionless dreams. People who face difficult events, yet manage to deal with them and move forward in their lives, report more emotion in their dreams even if those emotions are approximately 80% negative (Cartwright et al., 2001). Even if having a particular type of dream is followed by some beneficial waking life attribute it does not mean that the dream caused that to occur. Correlational studies such as those conducted by Cartwright and colleagues, do not provide definite evidence that dreams have a beneficial effect on waking life, as correlational studies, though relevant, are not able to show causation. In fact all published studies in this area to date are correlational rather than experimental and hence, can give no definite information about causality.

However, dream research theory (e. g., Cartwright et al., 2001) is an interesting parallel to positive psychology theories discussed later in this thesis that in waking life people with attributes which help them to feel more in control of their lives, who deal resiliently with adversity in waking life and thus experience more positivity and satisfaction in life, tend to function better in the world. In the qualitative study reported

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later in this thesis participants will undertake dreamwork sessions during which they will explore their dreams in relations to waking life events, thoughts and emotions endeavouring to make connections which may indicate causality if similar changes do not occur in a control group.

Commenting on the shortcomings of correlational studies to increase the existing body of knowledge in the field of dreaming patterns and personality traits,

Kuiken and colleagues suggest that studies which use measures that examine sequentially linked dream events and effects allow closer examination of the processes by which (impactful) dreams influence waking thoughts and emotions (Kuiken et al.,

2006). Consistently, Hall, who devised a system for analysing dream content, felt that

“a better understanding could be achieved by studying a series of dreams from the same individual rather than single dreams” (Hall, 1966, p. 2 & p. 71).

Some scientists make connections between dreams and Chaos theory, which is a way of understanding the Universe by comprehending patterns of order within apparent disorder (e. g., Kahn & Hobson, 1993). Scientists explain this connection using mathematical formulae and computer modelling, which identify how complex systems self-stabilise or self-organise and demonstrate how a tiny change in a complex system can bring about major changes. The most commonly quoted example of this is how the non-linear effect of a butterfly’s wing flapping disturbing the air in California, can have a consequent effect in the storm patterns in Asia, even months later. Kahn and Hobson

(1993) suggest that dreaming may be an example of chaos theory at work within the brain. Neuromodulating chemicals like serotonin prevent cerebral chaos during waking.

During REM sleep physiological changes decrease the modulation so the brain drops into a chaotic state; complex, vivid dreams are a result of the brain’s self-organising

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response as it tries to make sense of the chaos through reference to memory and recent waking experience.

“In the dreaming brain, the constraining forces come from internal memories; enduring records of conflict, desire, or concern; and more transitory traces of recent input, the so-called day residue of Freud. But within these constraints, the fluctuations can lead to an extremely wide repertoire of possible combinations. There is thus a large chance for novelty and innovation in dreaming as fluctuations play with a seemingly infinite supply of existing images and story lines” (Kahn & Hobson, 1993, p. 164).

Dreaming may be our most creative state, one in which the mixing of elements from schemata produces new models of information and new ideas. Other researchers also suggest a strong connection between sleep and creativity. For example, Stickgold

(2005) suggests that in REM sleep, logic and / or episodic memory are unavailable as are the neurochemicals required for paying attention, thus in the dream state there are no limitations and the imagination is free to wander creatively making whatever sense it wishes of the fantastic images dreams can contain. Similarly LaBerge (2004) posits that dreaming may be an opportunity to generate and rehearse a range of ideas. He suggests that a dream can afford an opportunity to try out various ways of approaching a situation, shifts in attitudes that help a person deal with an event in a novel way, or engage in behaviours that may lead to a more effective approach.

The functional value and use of dreams for positive benefits are seen by some to be limited. For example, Flanagan (2000, p. 4) asserts, whilst setting the scene for his philosophical / evolutionary based neurophilosophical theory on the function of dreams, that Mother Nature selects traits because they are fitness enhancing, but he can not identify how dreaming benefits human fitness. Therefore, he suggests that dreams can be equated to the human appendix “a generally useless but occasionally harmful

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leftover of evolution” (p 4). Flanagan acknowledges the interest in dreams experienced throughout history within many cultures by both lay and scientific people, but dismisses

Freud’s dream theories, stating that “most dreams do not have deep meaning” (p.192) or express wishes because they originate from chaotic brain stem activity. Flanagan concedes, however, that for psychobiological reasons dreams can be self-expression, and reflect wishes, hopes, anxieties and fears suppressed during waking. Initially his views seem to be contradictory but it is with elements of the theory behind this expression and reflection that he is concerned. He discounts the symbolism central to

Freud’s dream interpretation for the neurophilosophical belief that waking defences are lessened during sleep and therefore items suppressed can more easily be, and often are, expressed realistically in dreams. Flanagan’s neurophilosophical approach to dreaming combines his declared interest in philosophy with recent theories from neuroscience.

However, the rigour of the neurophilosophical approach has not been tested and

Flanagan uses only his own dreams to illustrate his theories. This means that all the dream interpretations and analyses are highly subjective. Flanagan’s theories would carry more weight had he obtained dreams from a range of participants, applied his neurophilosophical approach to them, and produced results which supported his theory.

Other researchers have different views. Domhoff (2005), a well-respected researcher in the area of dreams, has found support for his theories with years of research into the dreams of thousands of people. Much of Domhoff’s research was carried out with his mentor Calvin Hall who collected thousands of dreams from many cultures and devised a method for classifying dream content. Hall was one of the pioneers of dream research in the 20th Century collecting more than 50,000 dream reports between the 1940s and 1970s from people of all ages and genders in a variety of

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U.S. sites and in other cultures (Hall & Domhoff, 1963). Hall was interested in what people dream about and whether there were any noticeable differences between ages, genders, and cultures. Along with Van de Castle, Hall devised a system to categorise dream content and emotions. Their research, as that carried out with Domhoff, found for example, that woman’s dreams tend to contain equal numbers of male and female characters, whilst men’s dreams tend to contain more male characters (approx 70%).

Both genders tend to have more bad than good dream events and more negative than positive emotion. According to these researchers, men’s dreams generally contain more aggression (verbal and physical) than women’s, whilst children’s dreams contain little aggression until their teenage years (Domhoff, 2005). At the turn of the 21st Century

Domhoff was extremely positive about the expansion of dream research, seeing dreams as equating to night time self-generated movies, so when the learning is extracted from them through future neuro-cognitive research " the late-night movies in the brain can be incorporated into ambitious theories seeking to explain all aspects of the human mind" (Rock, 2004, p.191).

Contributory factors to the nature of dreams include waking life events, external stimuli, stress, and emotional arousal. It is not surprising that someone attending a special party would dream about being at a large gathering, or that if, whilst sleeping, a vehicle sounding a siren passed by the dreamer’s house that their dream could change to include a situation in which sirens would be familiar such as in a fire station or hospital.

Over recent years there has been considerable interest in studying various aspects of Domhoff’s Continuity Hypothesis, which states that people’s dreams reflect the issues and events that concern them during waking life. In Germany, Michael

Schredl and his team have carried out a number of studies. In one study the connection

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of negative and positive emotions between waking and dreaming was supported and, a further interesting effect noted; the apparent overspill of the dream emotions into the following day’s mood (Schredl & Reinhard, 2009). This is an interesting finding confirming previous anecdotal reports. In a further study concentrating on the dreams of truck drivers, it was noted that much of the dream content concerned driving or being in a truck, whilst the dream emotions were a reflection of the daytime moods to be anticipated in such a stressful job, in particular, anxiety and a sense of satisfaction when the task was successfully completed (Schredl, Funkhouser & Arn, 2006). The determinants for a waking event to appear in dreams have also been explored in two studies (Schredl, 2006; Schredl & Hoffmann, 2003), which concluded that the emotional intensity, not the emotional tone of the waking experience, effects the likelihood of incorporation into dreams. Interestingly, Schredl has also postulated on the continuity hypothesis being applicable to the dreams of Freud himself connecting five of the dreams presented by Freud in his writings to the known waking life experiences at that time and concluding that the relationship between waking life and dreams was supported (Schredl, 2008).

Schredl’s findings are consistent with those of a Canadian study which looked at the reliability of the continuity hypothesis with regard to the dreams of 21 women at different stages of their lives (Lortie-Lussier, Cote & Vachon, 2000). In a longitudinal study carried out over a 10 year period at the University of Montreal, using a slightly different approach based around measuring Psychological Well-being (PWB), it was reported that when the PWB measures of 28 participants, taken at fixed points over a two year period, showed lower PWB ratings it was more likely the participants would experience dreams with negative content and emotions (Pesant & Zadra, 2006). Whilst

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the higher the reported PWB the more likely participants were to experience friendly dream interactions and positive dream emotions, again supporting Domhoff’s continuity hypothesis.

The role of valence should be taken into account in research to confirm the continuity hypothesis. In another Canadian study looking at beliefs around dreams,

King and DeCicco’s (2009) results strongly reflected the beliefs of the participants.

Concentrating on two beliefs, 1) that dreams present important information and 2) dreams reflect aspects of waking life (the continuity hypothesis), it was discovered that those participants who believed dreams were closely tied to physical health and well- being were inclined to report dreams which strongly featured their body parts and had generally negative aspects to their dreams. Participants who believed that dreams were related to their spirituality easily found meaning in their dreams connected to their beliefs and reported less negative dream content than the other group. The researchers interpreted this as evidence of waking / dreaming continuity. However, it could perhaps be a case of participants focussing on finding what they seek in their dreams and discounting aspects which do not conform to their beliefs.

In all the above research a range of psychometric measures were used depending on the particular focus of the study undertaken. Varying formats of dream diaries for recording dream content and emotions were also used. Without the facility of a fully equipped and staffed sleep laboratory where sleepers can be woken when they appear to be dreaming in order to enquire about their dream’s content and emotions

(such facilities being increasingly rare in times of economic downturn) it appears that dream diaries for post sleep reporting are the most appropriate tool.

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Some people claim they can easily remember dreams and are able to share them spontaneously upon waking. Some people claim that they do not dream. Yet 1950s research in to Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep as an indicator of dreaming seemed to confirm that all people dream but that not all are able to recall their dreams.

Hartmann, Rosen, & Rand’s research (1998) indicates that thin boundaried people, those who are more sensitive, vulnerable or creative, such as performers and writers, who are easily able to make connections across a broad range of mental functions, tend to remember their dreams easily and with vivid detail. Whilst thick boundaried people or concrete thinkers, such as scientists or mathematicians who tend to operate mentally in discrete contained sections often claim not to dream or at least not to remember their dreams.

Kuiken and Sikora posit that recent proposals such as those put forward by Cartwright et al, (2001), Kahn and Hobson (1993), La Berge (2004) and Revonsuo (2003) that suggest negative dreams through scenarios which are similar to waking life, provide an opportunity for the dreamer to consider, rehearse, responses or curatively replay the negative waking life situation, are too simplistic. They see theories that consider the function of dreams to revolve around fear and defensive responses to negative dreams as neglecting the wider range of dreams and the impact of dreams for the individual

(Kuiken & Sikora, 1993). In the course of his research Kuiken identified three distinct types of dreams which are particularly impactful described as: “nightmares, in which fear and harm-avoidance are dominant, … existential dreams, in which sadness and separation are salient, and transcendent dreams, in which awe and magical accomplishment are focal” (Kuiken et al, 2006, p. 261). Whatever the dream type, similarities within the dreams were reported by participants (e.g., inconsistent changes of location, visual incongruity, a sense of searching, an intensity of affect particularly

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towards the conclusion of the dream and dream imagery that still seemed real even when awake). However, the ongoing effects of the different types of dreams on participants differed: nightmares were followed by an awareness of danger, sometimes hyper-vigilance; reflection on and acceptance of emotions previously unacknowledged followed existential dreams; whilst transcendent dreams engendered a previously unexperienced openness and willingness to explore spiritual ideas (Kuiken & Sikora,

1993; Kuiken, et al., 1996). It could be argued that greater vigilance and awareness of danger as a result of the nightmares is not beneficial because it could increase an individual’s anxiety. However, reflection on and acceptance of previously unacknowledged emotions, and an openness and willingness to explore spiritual ideas, might be viewed as potentially improving well-being in so far as the participants perceived they are now functioning with greater awareness.

Criticising the methodology used by other dream researchers Kuiken et al., (2006), highlight several issues ranging from the difficulty in measuring the sometimes transient effect of a dream to the longer lasting effects, occasionally life changing, that can result from impactful dreams. Finding a form of measurement to cover both immediate and long term effects, and in between circumstances, is difficult. The difficulty in defining a nightmare as a distressing dream which causes the sleeper to waken (Zadra & Donderi, 2000) is challenged because in Kuiken’s experience, existential and transcendent dreams can also cause awakening and can be accompanied by disturbing emotions. He argues for a wider range of measures when assessing the effects of dreaming and ‘nightmares’ on waking life, claiming the measures used by many researchers are

“clinically motivated indices of nightmare distress, and low correlations

between nightmare distress and nightmare frequency suggest that some

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nightmares are not distressing and may even have unexamined constructive

effects”, (Kuiken et al., 2006, p. 276) and thus can be seen as existential dreams.

Kuiken’s empirical research with several co-researchers has shown that these types of dreams can in time lead to deeper self-perception than nightmares or other types of dreams (Kuiken et al., 2006; Kuiken et al. 1996; Kuiken & Nielsen, 1996;

Kuiken & Sikora, 1993).

To overcome some of these shortcomings of earlier research, an Emotions Log and Dream Diary (ELDD) was created for the research presented in this thesis; so that not only negative but also positive aspects of dreaming and waking life could be explored. Bearing in mind Hartmann’s assertions around thick / thin boundaries, for the purpose of the studies reported here, people who claimed to remember and be interested in their dreams were sought as participants. These selection criteria aimed to improve the likelihood that participants would recall dreams that they could record.

The function of dreams is not necessarily the same as the biological function of

REM sleep. Therefore, it is very difficult to determine experimentally exactly what the function of dreaming might be. However, the function of dreams is not the focus of the current research but rather, regardless of the potential function of dreams, exploring the content of dreams to establish whether understanding dreams might be useful for improving participant’s well-being. In light of previous research, it seems worthwhile to explore a possible linkage between dream content and emotional well-being, and to examine the possibilities of using dreamwork to further emotional well-being.

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Well-Being

Dictionary definitions of well-being include: “good health, happiness and prosperity”; (Australian Oxford Dictionary, p. 549) or “healthy, contented or prosperous condition; moral or physical welfare”; (Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, p. 3654). From a medical point of view well-being includes bodily fitness, awareness of good nutrition, as well as quality of functioning mentally & physically thus ensuring well-being is seen as a key component of preventative medicine. The holistic movement of the last half of the 20th Century added spiritual well-being as necessary to ensure a wholly functioning person, one who is attuned physically, mentally and spiritually (Pietroni, 1986). Positive Psychology added another dimension: that of emotional well-being. For some people, when Martin Seligman gave his Presidential address to the APA (1998) and reminded members of the forgotten missions of psychology (i.e., to promote human virtue and strengths; to promote fulfilment), it was seen as the start of the positive psychology movement (Compton, 2005). Emotional well-being is thought to impact positively on a person’s functioning in society, how they cope with the vicissitudes of everyday life and how quickly they recover from adversity, life challenges and ill-health (Carpenter, 2007).

From a psychotherapeutic point of view well-being could be seen as including self- knowledge or self-insight, having an understanding of the motivational impetus behind one’s own thoughts and behaviour; knowing and being able to meet one’s own physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Babette Rothschild (2010), advocating a

Mindfulness approach, states that “the relationship we have with ourselves is the most important” (p. 14). Rothschild talks of helping people to develop a mindful gauge so that they can decide which therapeutic approach will be most useful to them. Working with trauma sufferers, Rothschild advocates therapists assisting clients to develop

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insight so that the client can take control of their own healing process and well-being.

This approach demonstrates a step forward from the holistic approach and mirrors the

International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD) recommended approach to dreamwork where the dreamer is the only one who decides what their dream means thus safeguarding the dreamer’s welfare and recognising the dreamer’s right and ability to make their own decision.

Positive psychology concentrates on three areas of human experience (Seligman

& Csikzentmihalyi, 2000). These are 1) positive subjective states – defined as positive emotions and constructive thoughts, which will be explored later in this chapter, 2) positive individual traits, like optimism, hope, life satisfaction and low neuroticism which provide the basis for the measures chosen in the first study detailed in chapter 2 and 3) positive organisations, which are not addressed in this thesis. Positive

Psychology’s interest in, and concentration on, the identification and building of strengths rather than treating psychological dysfunction, reinforces the old maxim that prevention is better than cure. The Health Services of all developed countries have roles for Health Promotion Officers. Less developed countries frequently have visiting medical personnel in similar roles whose job is to encourage people to live healthier life styles thus avoiding illness and disease. This often includes the promotion of a life style which encourages more creativity combined with social contact and interactions, with the intention of increasing a person’s self-belief, sense of belonging, and self- expression. Thus acknowledging the individual’s right to be who they uniquely are and to express themselves creatively. Creative expression is a further development of well- being. Humanistic psychologist Maslow introduced his Hierarchy of Needs (1954) which proposed the five steps necessary for an individual to reach self-actualization

(i.e., to become all they can be). Maslow believed that the human organism has an

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innate drive to develop and improve he called this the actualizing tendency. Usually expressed as ascending levels on a triangle the five levels of needs must be at least partially achieved for the person to move up to the next level. Starting at the base the levels are physiological needs; safety and security needs; love and belongingness needs; self-esteem needs and at the apex self-actualisation. Maslow acknowledged that the need for aesthetic expression was an essential for some people and “the failure to satisfy their need for creativity and beauty resulted in ennui, boredom and meaninglessness” (Maslow cited by Crompton, 2005, p. 162.). In moving up the hierarchy of needs a person will be pursuing what they require for their current well- being needs at each level.

It is important to acknowledge that there are undoubtedly times when well- being is best served by experiencing negative emotions (e.g., incidents that pose a threat to life, funerals, visiting a person suffering from depression). There are also times when a negative mood is an indicator of an unacknowledged uncertainty that may need professional help to resolve, (e.g., a newly engaged young woman who feels deep sadness, not happiness). On these types of occasions the negative mood might be viewed as drawing the person’s attention to areas of concern that need addressing to improve well-being. There are also the occasions when pessimism can be more appropriate than optimism, when negative thinking acts as a motivator towards improved performance or personal growth; or conversely as advanced mitigation or disappointment avoidance if goals are not achieved (Norem, 2008; Norem & Chang,

2002). Other times optimism can be viewed as a negative emotion for instance when a person addicted to gambling ignores the amounts of money they are losing to continue gambling in the mistaken belief that soon they will win the jackpot and as a

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consequence the gambler gets deeper into debt which effects not only them but their family as well (Gibson & Sanbonmatsu, 2004).

The work of Barbara Fredrickson has shown that experiencing positive emotions broadens and strengthens a person’s physical, intellectual and social resources

(Seligman, 2002). Fredrickson claims that people are more attracted to those with a positive mood, that they make friends and build relationships easier than those who exhibit a negative mood. People in a positive mood are more likely to have a tolerant, broader and creative mind set and therefore, have happier and more fulfilled lives. This research intends to explore if similar benefits can be developed through exploration of dreams where the focus is drawing out positive emotions and learning.

In an increasing health conscious 21st century world well-being can have mental, physical, emotional, spiritual and social connotations. For the purposes of this research it was decided to concentrate on the element of emotional well-being specifically as defined within Positive Psychology, although it was appreciated that improvements in emotional well-being may bring about changes in other areas of well- being too.

In Positive Psychology well-being is most often described as Hedonic or subjective well-being and consists of three main components: being very happy, being very satisfied with life and experiencing low levels of neuroticism (Diener & Lucas,

1999). Happiness is seen as being about a person’s emotional state, how they feel about their world and themselves, whilst satisfaction with life is more about how a person views the acceptability of their life. Low levels of neuroticism are indicated by an ability to cope with life’s vicissitudes without developing negative psychological symptoms or, from a holistic point of view, experiencing physical, mental, emotional or spiritual dis-ease (Pietroni, 1986). In the study detailed in Chapter 2 positive

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psychology measures are used to assess the participants’ state of well-being before and after completion of records of waking and dream emotions and events for 21 days.

Emotion in Dreams

Hartmann (2003) contends that intense emotion in dreams is related to the individual’s waking emotions. He sees dreams as a mental function occurring on a series of related continua running from focused waking activity through looser less structured thought into reverie, or day-dreaming on to dreaming. Mental functioning is thought to be similar throughout the stages. In fact, Hartmann (2003) emphasizes the continuity in mental functioning between the conscious states of waking and dreaming rather than the discontinuities. Hartmann’s research has also convinced him that dreams are guided by emotion. He cites the ‘tidal wave dream’ common amongst people who have recent experience of a trauma, shock, or close escape, to support his theory. He believes the central image of the tidal wave is a contextualisation representing the sense of helplessness, fear, overwhelm, or vulnerability felt by the dreamer in waking life

(Hartmann, 1998). The theory of the contextualised central image is demonstrated clearly in the case studies contained in Chapter 6. The strong indicator that emotions in dreams are associated with those experienced in waking life will guide the hypotheses and measures used in Study 1as detailed in Chapter 2.

As mentioned previously, Cartwright believes the preponderance of negative emotions in dreams is because part of the purpose of dreams is to process negative emotions as a waking mood regulator. She suggests that processing waking experiences which are stressful, emotional, or damaging to self-esteem, may be part of the purpose of REM sleep. Cartwright’s research concentrated on waking people when they were in

REM sleep which found that the dreams they reported tended to contain more negative emotions. It is for this reason that our participants will not be woken during the night

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but instead, will record their dreams at home on waking. Even though this may mean participants will likely only record the last dream that they remember, based on

Cartwright’s research, several of our participants will still be expected to record negative dreams.

It is also relevant to note the views of Flanagan who believes that bad dreams or nightmares after experiencing negative waking life events or negative emotions are merely reflecting adverse waking life, and do not in any way ameliorate distress experienced in waking life, nor are they mood regulatory (Flanagan, 2000). The experiments reported in the third study of the thesis will endeavour to provide evidence to support an alternative to Flanagan’s view, and instead test the premise that bad dreams or nightmares which are examined, interpreted and related to waking life, can assist with counteracting the distress caused by the bad dream or nightmare, and improve the participant’s waking well-being.

Domhoff (2005) contends that 75% of dreams are negative. Zadra and Donderi

(2000) carried out studies focussing on bad dreams. Their results suggested connections between bad dreams / nightmares and psychopathology. Hunt (1989) posited that very intense negatively toned dreams reflect actual negative waking-life experiences. Other researchers also report an overwhelming number of negative emotions in dreams

(Blagrove, Farmer & Williams, 2004; Hartmann, 1984; Levin & Nielsen, 2009). It is therefore surprising that a study undertaken in Norway by Fosse, Stickgold and Hobson

(2001) found joy / elation to be the predominant emotion reported, appearing in 36% of dreams. The authors suggest that the data collection techniques account for the preponderance of positive emotions because rather than bringing the participants to sleep in a strange bed in a sleep laboratory connected to EEG equipment, they were wearing a nightcap device in their own bed in their own homes. Woken in REM sleep

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they recorded their own dream emotions for intensity and occurrence rather than a researcher’s interpretation of the dreamer’s emotions. The researchers believe that comfort, familiarity with the surroundings, and self-recording had an effect on the accuracy of the data collected. In the research presented in this thesis participants will also be sleeping in their own beds, in their own homes, which will hopefully remove any anxiety and allow accurate recording of their waking and dream experiences.

Domhoff (1996) also suggests that there is a repetition dimension to dreams which tends to get overlooked. He believes that studying a series of dreams is more indicative to the overall emotional state of the dreamer than looking at individual dreams. He states that dreams reveal our self-conceptions and our emotional preoccupations, and they tend to be more continuous with our waking thoughts and concerns than we generally realise (Domhoff, 1996, 2001). The studies reported in this thesis last 21 days (Chapter 2) and 56 days (Chapters 3 & 6) and therefore provide opportunity for any pattern of repetitive dreams to be identified.

Themes in dreams

Garfield (2001) has proposed that the themes experienced in dreams are universal. Regardless of where the dreamer lives in the world their dream is likely to fit into one of twelve categories related to waking life, often adjusted to fit the local culture. Using a bank of 500 participants, the five most common dream themes she reported were “…being chased or attacked (80%); falling or drowning (64%); being lost or trapped (58%); being naked or inappropriately dressed in public (52%); being accidentally injured, ill or dying (48%)” (p. xvi). However, Garfield does not clarify whether “most common” refers to frequency or prevalence of these specific dream types; even if most people have had a dream of being inappropriately dressed for example, these dreams may actually not be regarded as common, if they only occur to

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most people once or twice in their lifetime. Garfield (2001) does however recognise the preponderance of negative dreams, which she posits are the ones which offer problem solving opportunities. Yet, for each negative theme she contends there is a positive version too. The themes are just the foundations of the dream. Each person’s dream contains additional motifs (specific details) which relate particularly to their situation.

She provides ideas for what the dream images might actually mean for example, being hurt or wounded in a dream attack may relate to feeling emotionally hurt by a waking person. Whilst the concept of twelve universal themes may assist in dreamwork, the concept of the meaning being the same for individual dreamers does not fit with the approach used with the dreamwork groups in the qualitative study which is detailed in

Chapter 5. In this study, a combination of elements from the Ullman and Hill dreamwork approaches are used. Ullman’s (1979, 1987) approach starts from the premise that the only ones who truly know what the dreams mean are the dreamers themselves.

During the last half of the twentieth century Hall and Van de Castle did considerable work on the categorising of dream content so that it can be quantitatively analysed (Domhoff, 1996). The categories encompass the myriad elements found in dreams. They include environments, interactions, characters appearing in the dream besides the dreamer, the activities undertaken by the dreamer and others, as well as emotions, connections to waking life, successes / failures, objects, and good / bad luck, plus new categories when needed. Using the Hall/Van de Castle system on over 10,000 dream reports has enable many research questions to be answered. Domhoff reported that “… its categories have been shown to be psychologically relevant in terms of waking concerns of those who have contributed dream reports” (1996, p. 2).

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Working with Dreams

The intention of this research is to explore the effects of waking life on the dreams that people recall. The interest is firstly in investigating whether personality characteristics and emotions have any bearing on the types of dreams experienced.

Secondly in examining if dream experiences can have an effect on waking life and thirdly to explore the possibility that understanding of one’s dreams might have a beneficial effect on well-being. The first step was to investigate if there was a connection between waking life and dreams by exploring personality dimensions, the emotions experienced during waking, and those experienced during dreams. This first study used a cross-sectional survey design. As noted in the introductory section of this document, the study was published fairly closely to this form, in the journal Dreaming

(Gilchrist, Davidson, & Shakespeare-Finch, 2007). Therefore, the chapter includes a literature review section. In other words, the reason this introductory chapter has not comprised a section detailing research around personality characteristics and dreaming, is that such a discussion is included in the following chapter.

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Chapter 2

Dream Emotions, Waking Emotions, Personality Characteristics and Well-Being:

A Positive Psychology Approach.

In this chapter we report on a study that explored whether personality characteristics and daytime emotions are related to dream emotions and if participants with higher positive ratings on waking well-being scales have a tendency to experience more positive emotions in dreams and conversely those with higher negative ratings experience more negative dream emotions. The expectation was that people who have significant positive emotional trait and state ratings in waking life would experience more positive dreams.

The relationship between dream emotions and waking personality characteristics has been investigated by many researchers. However the emphasis has tended to be on negative characteristics and negative dreams. The value of positive characteristics in relationship to positive dreams has rarely been explored. In addition there has been little research into the relationship between positive waking emotions and positive dream emotions.

Dream emotions, personality characteristics and well-being research

Blagrove, Farmer and Williams (2004) recruited 147 participants from the university population to record their dreams for 2 weeks when they explored the connection of frequent unpleasant dreams in comparison to frequent nightmares as an indicator of low well-being. They used measures to assess negative traits; neuroticism; anxiety and depression; and acute stress / psychopathology and a 14 night dream log for recording the occurrence of and rating of the unpleasantness of dreams. Unpleasantness was used

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as a ‘catch-all’ for all negative emotions. They found correlations between low well- being and the likelihood of experiencing unpleasant dreams frequently. They also found associations between anxiety, depression, neuroticism, acute stress and the waking trait of nightmare distress. The study did not examine the relationship between positive dreams and personality traits or the connection between waking emotions and dreaming emotions.

Schredl (2003) also concentrated primarily on negative dreams, in particular the effects of state and trait factors on nightmare frequency. He reported that people suffering waking stress are more likely to experience negative dreams and that state is a more relevant indicator of the potential for negative dreaming than trait. His findings support the continuity hypothesis that the concerns people express in their dreams are the concerns that they have in waking life. “What they dream about is also what they think about or do when they are awake” (Domhoff, 1996, p.153). Schredl acknowledged the need for further longitudinal studies. The participants in Schredl’s study kept dream diaries for only two weeks, recording a maximum of five dreams.

Hartmann (1991, 1998, 2001) contended that intense emotion in dreams - whether negative or positive - is a representation of emotion in waking life. He suggested that dominant images within dreams are a contextualization of strong emotions experienced in waking life. Hartmann’s Boundary Questionnaire (1991) measures the degree of separateness (thick boundaries) versus connection (thin boundaries) between a broad range of mental functions, processes, and entities (Hartmann, Rosen, & Rand, 1998, p.

32). He found that sensitive, vulnerable and creative people, who have thin mental boundaries, tend to recall dreams more easily and that their dream content is more vivid and detailed.

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Assessing the relationship between nightmares, bad dreams and well-being, Zadra and Donderi (2000) found that people who experience bad dreams frequently were low on self-reported measures of well-being. They also identified large discrepancies in numbers of negative dreams reported by retrospective questionnaires when compared to dream diaries which were completed every day over a one month period. As well as negative dreams their participants were asked to record two types of positive dreams: flying dreams and lucid dreams. The positive dream data were used only to examine whether retrospective measures (i.e., questionnaires estimating the numbers of dreams experienced in the previous 12 months) were as inaccurate for positive dreams as for negative ones. The positive dream data were not used in any analysis of the relationship to well-being.

When carrying out experiments exploring positive and negative affectivity in dreams

Kallmeyer and Chang (1998, p. 219) posited that “the emotional content in dreams might be an important variable in individual differences”. They used the Watson and

Clark’s (1994) PANAS-X to measure joviality, self-assurance, attentiveness, serenity and surprise as indicators of positive affect within dream content; with fear, hostility, guilt, sadness, shyness and fatigue as indicators of negative affect within dream content.

Participants were asked if they experienced mainly positive or mainly negative dreams.

The research obtained significant correlations between self-classified positive or negative dreamers and elements of positive or negative affectivity and dream emotion in dream content when recorded in dream logs over 4 weeks. Whilst this study looked at both positive and negative affect in dreams, they did not do any testing for correlation of dream content to affect or emotions in waking life, they only asked participants before the study to self-rate as positive or negative dreamers without there being any clarification of what this actually meant.

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St-Onge, Lortie-Lussier, Mercier et al. (2005) reported on the incidence and valence of dream emotions and waking life satisfaction in their study comparing young and late–adulthood women. Both home and laboratory dreams were included; they found greater negative emotions and intensity of emotions recorded in the home dreams.

However, no significant relationship between dream emotions and life satisfaction was found.

Dreaming and waking emotions

Theorists have suggested different ways of classifying emotions (Ekman, 1993;

Goldsmith, 1994; Ortony, Clore, & Collins, 1988; Plutchik, 1962; Watson, 2002), generally proposing between seven and ten basic emotions. Research has found more negative emotions present in dreams than in waking (Nielsen, Deslauriers, & Baylor,

1991). Domhoff (1996), in analysing dreams, identified four main negative categories of emotions: Anger, Apprehension or Fear, Sadness, Confusion or Shock. According to

Fredrickson (2002), positive emotions in waking life are outnumbered by negative ones and she defines four categories of positive emotions: Joy or Happiness, Love,

Contentment, Interest or Excitement. For the purposes of this study, in which wished goal is to get participants to rate both positive and negative emotions for duration and intensity during waking and dreaming without placing too onerous a burden upon them, it was decided that combining the Fredrickson / Domhoff categories of emotions as listed above would be an appropriate method. Therefore, the emotional categories used were 1) Joy or Happiness, 2) Love, 3) Contentment, 4) Interest or Excitement, 5)

Anger, 6) Apprehension or Fear, 7) Sadness and 8) Confusion or Shock.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between dream emotions and waking emotions and between dream emotions and well-being. In order to determine well-being it was decided to measure positive personality characteristics

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such as optimism, hope, life satisfaction and interest in understanding. These factors have been identified as characteristics and attitudes indicative of well-being in positive psychology where the emphasis has been on identifying and developing characteristics and attitudes which nurture positive development (Compton, 2005). If such characteristics nurture positive development is it feasible that positive characteristics and attitudes might also nurture positive dreams. There is very little published literature on the connection between positive trait or affect and dreams. A database search of the academic literature reveals only one reference: a dissertation exploring the effects of infertility treatment on dream content (Kursh, 1995). In this study results demonstrated a balance between hopefulness and pessimism in the dreams of the experimental group, although, more intense positive affect was noted in the dreams of the control group than the experimental group. It would therefore appear that there is a gap in research in this area. There has also been limited research into the relationship between positive and negative waking emotions and positive and negative dream emotions. It was not possible to locate any studies correlating diary measures for dreaming and waking of both emotions. The emphasis of previous research has tended to be on negative personality characteristics in relationship to negative dreams. The value of positive characteristics in relationship to positive dreams has rarely been explored, and in this study the relationship between positive and negative personality characteristics and dream emotions and between waking emotions and dream emotions will be investigated.

The First Study

Researchers have tended to concentrate on exploring the connection between negative affect or trait with negative dreams or nightmares (Blagrove, et al., 2004;

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Kallmeyer & Chang, 1998; Schredl, 2003; Zadra & Donderi, 2000) but have neglected to explore the connection between positive affect or trait and the experiencing of positive dreams. The present study intended to address this shortfall but additionally to consider whether participants with positive traits or affect would be more likely to experience positive dreams than participants with negative trait or affect and whether participants with negative affect or trait would be more likely to experience negative dreams than participants with positive trait or affect. By exploring the connection between both negative and positive aspects of waking and dreaming it was hoped to discover whether a propensity to construe dream content as positive or negative correlated to personality characteristics, measures of well-being and state measures of mood and emotion. This was an exploration of the connection between positive & negative dreams to positive & negative waking emotions, personality characteristics and well-being addressed in a quantitative manner. A collection of questionnaires designed to measure both positive and negative personality characteristics and attitude to life were used as tools to measure trait and well-being. As a measure of state participants were required to completed daily logs recording emotions experienced during waking and in dreams, rating the emotions for both intensity and duration.

Hypotheses

1) It was predicted that negative personality measures for neuroticism and negative affect would be positively correlated with the negative dream emotions of anger, apprehension or fear, sadness, confusion or shock and that positive personality measures for optimism, hope, life satisfaction, positive affect and need for cognition would positively correlate with the positive dream emotions of joy or happiness, love, contentment, interest or excitement.

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2) It was predicted that there would be positive relationships between waking emotions and the same or related dream emotions.

3) It was anticipated that data on waking emotions would augment the capacity of personality characteristics to predict dream emotions.

Method

Participants

Initially participants were recruited from the University of Tasmania under-graduate psychology student population. First year psychology students were awarded 2 hours credit in return for their participation; other psychology students and students from other Schools participated purely out of interest. Members of the general public were recruited via external publicity: posters in public places (libraries, sport’s centres, shopping malls and public notice boards), articles in the Media and word of mouth. The researchers were particularly interested in gaining data from people from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds, spread over a large geographical area, with a range of ages and from a variety of urban and rural communities. The participants ranged in age from 17 to 82 years of age (average 38.5 years). The breakdown of participants by age group is provided in Table 2.1.

One hundred and forty-eight dream diaries / waking emotions logs were issued, 128 were returned five of which could not be used, because of a misunderstanding of instructions, leaving a total of 123 participants (f=94, m=29) for this study. Of the 123 diaries used 56 (46%) were from students and 67 (54%) were members of the general public. The data were collected between April and December 2005.

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Table 2.1

Breakdown of all Participants in Study 1 into Age Groupings.

Age Group n %

25 years of age or under 46 37 26 to 45 years of age 32 26 46 years of age or over 45 37 Total 123 100

Note: n = 123, minimum age 17 years, maximum age 82 years, M = 38.51, SD = 17.92. It is interesting to note that the participants under 25 years of age and likely to be from the student population are 37% and the participants over 45 years of age and likely to be members of the general public are also 37%, supporting the researchers intent to recruit participants from a wide range of ages.

Materials

At the end of an induction session during which the study was explained in full, participants completed a personality characteristics / well-being questionnaire pack which consisted of the following:-

The Short Boundary Questionnaire comprising 45 self-descriptive statements requiring yes or no responses. It included two non-scored filler statements. Sample statements were “my dreams are so vivid that even later I can’t tell them from waking reality” (thin) and “ I like stories that have a definite beginning, middle and end”

(thick). The questionnaire measured the degree of separateness (thick boundary) versus connectedness (thin boundary) between a broad range of mental functions and processes. Thin (connected) mental boundaries are an indicator of the potential for emotion in dreams and also a predictor of negative dreams (Beaulieu-Prevost & Zadra,

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2007). Hartmann (1991), and Schredl (2003), report internal consistency (α =.93) whilst

Rawlings (2002) reported a Cronbach’s alpha of .74.

The Life Orientation Test – Revised (LOT-R)is a self-report measure of optimism, comprising ten self-descriptive statements formatted on five-point scales with end-point designations ranging from disagree a lot (1) to agree a lot (5). Four statements are fillers that were not scored; three items were negatively phrased, whilst three were positively phrased. Sample items were “If something can go wrong for me it will”

(negative) and “I am always optimistic about my future” (positive). Scheier et al.,

(1994 & 2001) reported a Cronbach’s alpha .78.

The Staats Hope Scale (SHS) comprised 16 items and had two sub-scales: Hope for self and Hope for others. Participants rated their wish for a specific item and their expectation for the same item on six-point scales with end-point designations ranging from not at all (0) to very much (5). The prefix designating the time over which the items were scored was adjusted to suit the measures needed for the present study “in the foreseeable future” was used. Sample items were “To what extent do you wish / expect to have good health” (hope for self) and “To what extent do you wish / expect peace in the world” (hope for others). Staats (1989) reported internal consistencies alphas of .72 to .85.

The Adult Dispositional Hope Scale (ADHS) consisted of 12 self-descriptive statements, four of which were non-scored fillers. Participants rated themselves against a four-point scale ranging from definitely false (1) to definitely true (4) as predictors of positive attitude to life. Sample statements were “my past experiences have prepared me well for my future” and “there are lots of ways around any problem.” Alphas of .74 to .84 were reported by Snyder, Harris, et al. (1991).

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As a measure of psychological well-being, the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), was used which has five items rated against a four-point scale ranging from definitely false (1) to definitely true (4). Statements included “In most ways my life is close to ideal” and “If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing.” Lucas, Diener

& Larsen (2003) reported moderate correlations with positive emotions.

Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) was used to measure affect experienced by participants during the previous week, the time frame was adjusted to suit the measures needed for this study. PANAS used ten positive and ten negative emotions. Participants indicated against a five-point scale, with end-points of very slightly or not at all (1) to extremely (5) the extent to which they had experienced the listed emotions during the previous week. Watson, Clark & Tellegen (1988) report alphas of .86 to .90 for Positive Affect (PA) with alphas for Negative Affect (NA) being .84 to .87; alpha estimates of NA .85, PA .88 were reported by Fredrickson &

Joiner (2002).

International personality item pool (IPIP) measure (neuroticism), used on the basis that low scores for neuroticism act as an indicator of emotional stability, it comprised ten self-descriptive statements, five statements indicated high neuroticism with five indicating low neuroticism, the statements included “I experience my emotions intensely” and “I don’t understand people who get emotional.” Rating was formatted on five-point scales with end-point designations ranging from disagree a lot (1) to agree a lot (5) with five items being reverse scored. The scale had an alpha range of .72 to .84 according to Gosling, Rentfrow, and Swann (2003).

The Need for Cognition Scale (NFCS) was used to assess the participant’s tendency to demonstrate an interest in understanding life. The NFCS had two subscales for complex thinking and simple thinking, it consisted of 18 statements; participants

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indicated if the statement applies to them or not with yes or no responses. There were nine statements indicating complex thinking and nine indicated simple thinking; example statements were “I find satisfaction in deliberating hard and for long hours”

(complex) and “It’s enough for me that someone gets the job done; I don’t care how or why it works” (simple). The NFCS was used by Hill et al. (2001), and Wegener, Clark, and Petty (2006).

The Emotions Log / Dream Diary (ELDD) consisted of back-to-back sheets used by participants before going to sleep to record and rate key day-time events, predominant waking thoughts and the intensity & duration of emotions experienced during waking hours; then upon awaking overleaf details of dream content – images, locations, colours, people, symbols were recorded and the intensity & duration of emotions experienced during sleeping were recorded and rated. If dream content could not be recalled but emotions were present upon waking participants were asked to record and rate those emotions. Emotions were recorded under 4 negative categories: Anger,

Apprehension / Fear, Sadness, Confusion / Shock, and 4 positive categories: Joy /

Happiness, Love, Contentment, Interest / Excitement; these were rated against eight- point scales with end-points of not at all (0) to intense (7) for intensity of emotion and end points of not at all (0) to all of the time (7) for duration of emotion. An additional guidance sheet detailing a large number of emotions and under which of the eight headings they might be categorised was also given to participants (see appendices A 22 to A 25).

Procedure

Information packs were issued to university psychology students or posted to members of the public responding to posters or articles in the Media. To safeguard

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING 39

confidentiality and ensure impartiality in data processing, at the time information packs were despatched, all respondents were issued with an identity number.

Every participant was required to undertake an induction session during which they were advised that this was the first of two studies, that progression onto the second study was not mandatory but would only be open to those completing the initial three- week study and wishing to continue. Participants were introduced to the Emotions Log

/ Dream Diary and given instructions on completing the Emotions Log last thing before sleeping and the Dream Diary immediately upon waking. In particular the scoring of emotions for intensity and duration on the 8 point scales was explained with examples of how they might be completed. The categories of emotions were explained and lists giving examples of emotions which might fall under each category were provided.

There was a question and answer session at which participant’s concerns or misunderstandings were addressed by the researcher. Participants then had to confirm that they understood and were happy with the conditions for participation in the study and wanted to continue. Those continuing then completed the batch of personality characteristic / attitude to life questionnaires. On completion of the questionnaires they were issued with a waking emotions log / dream diary which they completed at home over the next three weeks. Participants dated each of the Emotions Log / Dream Diary pages and recorded waking activities and emotions and dream descriptions and emotions experienced. After 3 weeks the packs were returned.

Results

The data on emotions comprised ratings of both intensity and duration of eight waking and dream emotions each rated daily on an eight-point scale. Mean values were determined for each participant on each measure over the three-week period excluding missing values (for example when no dream was recorded on a particular night).

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING 40

Average values were also obtained for the four negative and the four positive emotions to permit a more global level of analysis of emotion. Correlations between the measures of intensity and duration were generally high and varied from .69 (for anger) to .95 (for contentment) with a median of .91 for the dream emotions, and .85 to .94 for the waking emotions with a median of .93. The only correlation below .80 was for anger in dreams. Because the correlations were so high it was decided that it would not be informative to perform parallel analyses for intensity and duration, and the ratings of intensity and duration were averaged to provide a single score for each participant’s rating of a waking or dreaming emotion averaged over the three weeks of recording.

The means and standard deviations of the waking and dreaming emotions are presented in Table 2.2.

Personality Characteristics and Dream Emotions It was hypothesised that there would be significant correlations between negative personality measures and negative dream emotions and positive personality characteristics and positive dream emotions. The correlations are shown in Table 2.3.

To control for Type 1 errors with so many correlations, only those significant at the one per cent level are highlighted. Correlations of .19 are significant at the five per cent level but are not specifically identified as six would be expected in uncorrelated random data.

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Table 2.2 Means and Standard Deviations of Emotional Categories in Dreaming and Waking Conditions Condition Emotional Mean Standard Deviation Categories Dream Joy 1.16 1.01 Contentment 1.10 .94 Love .72 .80 Excitement 1.59 1.05 Anger .85 .59 Apprehension 1.65 1.01 Sadness .78 .73 Confusion 1.80 1.09 Negative Revised 1.27 .67 Positive Revised 1.14 .77 Waking Joy 2.10 1.22 Contentment 2.71 1.25 Love 1.65 1.43 Excitement 1.91 1.20 Anger .83 .63 Apprehension 1.22 .93 Sadness 1.06 .80 Confusion .74 .80 Negative Revised .96 .60 Positive Revised 2.09 1.01 Note. N=123

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Table 2.3

Correlations between personality characteristics and ratings of positive and negative

dream emotions averaged over a three-week period (N = 123)

Positive Emotions Negative Emotions

Joy Cont Love Exci Pos Ang App Sad Conf Neg

Neuroticism .11 .07 .22 .17 .15 .06 .24 .30 .10 .21

Optimism .03 .09 .04 .11 .12 -.06 -.19 -.03 .00 -.06

Satisfaction with Life .01 .19 .02 -.02 .03 .04 -.22 -.20 -.08 -.20

ADHS .04 .11 .06 .16 .18 -.03 -.16 -.03 .03 .01

Boundary Thinness -.17 -.09 -.11 -.21 -.19 .03 .04 -.22 -.11 -.08

PANAS Positive .05 .04 .00 .01 .04 .07 .11 .12 .08 .13

PANAS Negative .03 -.08 .06 .16 .08 .09 .05 .16 .19 .19

Staats Hope – Self -.11 -.07 -.14 -.30 -.18 -.02 -.17 -.15 -.24 -.19

Staats Hope – Other -.01 -.08 -.03 -.11 -.10 .01 -.10 -.10 -.11 -.12

Stats Hope – Total -.06 -.09 -.09 -.22 -.15 -.00 -.15 -.14 -.19 -.17

NFCS – Complex -.16 -.03 -.06 -.20 -.17 -.05 -.00 .05 -.10 -.06

NFCS – Simple .09 .01 .07 .28 .15 -.00 .06 .03 .13 .09

Note 1. Full identifiers for dream emotions are: Joy or Happiness, Contentment, Love,

Interest or Excitement, Positive (Average), Anger, Apprehension or Fear, Sadness,

Confusion or Shock, Negative (Average). Correlations significant at the p <.01 level

are in bold type.

Overall the correlations were low. The personality variables most related to dream

emotions were neuroticism (emotional stability) which was significantly related to

dream apprehension and sadness; the self sub-scale of the Staats Hope scale reflecting

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING 43

hope for oneself that was significantly negatively related to dream excitement and confusion, and NFCS Simple that was also significantly related to dream excitement.

Waking Emotions and Dream Emotions

The second set of hypotheses concern the expectation of positive relationships between waking emotions and the same or related dream emotions. The correlations between ratings of waking and dream emotions (both averaged over a three week period) were determined and are shown in Table 2.4. Consistent with expectations, overall the correlations are moderate to high and significant. Several factors may have contributed to the size of the correlations in addition to the relationship between the underlying emotions and these issues will be treated further in the discussion section.

With these qualifications it is nevertheless apparent that there are strong relationships between waking and dreaming emotions, with the highest correlation with each dreaming emotion most frequently being the corresponding waking emotion.

Interesting exceptions are dream confusion which is almost equally related to waking excitement and waking confusion, and waking joy which is correlated with averaged negative emotions. It is possible that these might be type 1 errors. Although, psychoanalytical dream displacement theory recognises that waking emotions may be so displaced as to be fully reversed in dreams.

The findings of strong correlations between the corresponding waking and dreaming emotion are consistent with the continuity hypothesis (Domhoff, 1996; p.153). Results are particularly important as previous research has not documented these relationships.

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Table 2.4

Correlations between Waking Emotions (averaged over three weeks) and Dream

Emotions (also averaged over three weeks) (N = 123)

Waking Emotions Positive Dream Emotions Negative Dream Emotions

Joy Cont Love Exci Pos Ang App Sad Conf Neg

Joy .59 .32 .56 .52 .59 .26 .31 .28 .41 .40

Contentment .24 .51 .29 .29 .37 .22 .13 .17 .28 .23

Love .35 .29 .57 .54 .53 .29 .24 .31 .32 .37

Excitement .46 .28 .51 .74 .61 .23 .36 .39 .49 .50

Positive average .51 .44 .61 .66 .67 .32 .32 .37 .47 .48

Anger .34 .10 .30 .32 .35 .46 .28 .26 .31 .45

Apprehension .11 -.03 .18 .38 .24 .15 .44 .41 .28 .48

Sadness .22 .17 .40 .38 .34 .27 .37 .51 .41 .51

Confusion .23 .25 .32 .46 .37 .10 .37 .42 .48 .49

Negative average .28 .15 .39 .51 .42 .30 .49 .54 .49 .63

Note. Correlations significant at the p <.01 level are shown in bold type. Full identifiers for dream emotions are: Joy or Happiness, Contentment, Love, Interest or

Excitement, Positive (Average), Anger, Apprehension or Fear, Sadness, Confusion or

Shock, Negative (Average).

Personality Characteristics, Waking Emotions and Dream Emotions

The third set of hypotheses concerns the relationship between personality characteristics, waking emotions and dream emotions. It was predicted that data on waking emotions would augment the capacity of personality characteristics to predict dream emotions. To assess the additional variance accounted for in predicting dream emotions from these two sets of variables regression analyses were performed. At the

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING 45

first step personality variables were included if they reached the one per cent significance level. At step 2 waking emotions were entered using the stepwise procedure if they met the same criterion. Because of the stronger relationship between dreaming and waking emotions it is possible for regression coefficients () to be significant at step one but no longer to make a significant contribution at step 2 after the inclusion of waking emotions. Accordingly both sets of beta values are shown in Table

2.5. Because of the different levels of analysis, individual emotions are used as dependent variables and predictors together, and the global emotion scores for positive and negative emotions are treated in separate analyses.

Overall, as would be expected from the relative sizes of the correlations between dream emotions and personality characteristics and dream emotions and waking emotions, the waking emotions made a substantial additional contribution to explaining the variation in dream emotions in every case. Personality characteristics were useful predictors of dream emotions only for the dream emotions of excitement, apprehension, sadness and confusion. With the single exception of love the strongest predictor of the dream emotion in the final regression equation was the related waking emotion. For the dream emotion of love the waking emotion of joy emerged as the strongest predictor in the final regression equation, with waking love and sadness also significant predictors.

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Table 2.5

Regression Analyses Predicting Dream Emotions from Personality Characteristics and

Waking Emotions (N = 123)

2 Dependent Variable P P&WE R Predictors (waking) Dream Joy .59** .35 Joy Dream Contentment .50** Contentment .23** .31 Confusion Dream Love .26** Love .34** Joy .22** .43 Sadness Dream Excitement -.40** -.28** Staats Hope - Self .29** .13* .16 ADHS .57** Excitement .20** .63 Joy Dream Anger 46** .21 Anger Dream Apprehension .24** .12 .06 l Stability .42** Apprehension .28** .30 Joy Dream Sadness .30** .18* .09 Emotional Stability .38** Sadness .25** .34 Excitement Dream Confusion -.28** -.14 Staats Hope - Self .25** .17* .11 PANAS Negative .20* Excitement .33** Confusion .22** .38 Contentment Dream Positive Emotion .60** Positive Emotion .21** .49 Negative Emotion Dream Negative Emotion .52** Negative Emotion .30** .47 Positive Emotion

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Note. P shows the standardised regression coefficients for prediction from personality characteristics at step 1. If no personality characteristics are significant predictors at the

1% level the column is blank. The accompanying R2 shows the proportion of variance

accounted for at step 1. P&WE shows the standardised regression coefficients for personality characteristics and waking emotions at step 2. The accompanying R2 shows the proportion of variance accounted for at step 2. Full identifiers for dream emotions are: Joy or Happiness, Contentment, Love, Interest or Excitement, Positive (Average),

Anger, Apprehension or Fear, Sadness, Confusion or Shock, Negative (Average). * = p

< .05, ** = p < .01.

Discussion

The results confirmed the findings of Schredl (2003) who stated that in predicting negative dreams state was more important than trait; also the views of

Hartmann (1991, 1998 & 2001) that the emotions present in dreams are representative of those experienced the previous day and the research of Zadra & Donderi (2000) who found a strong correlation between low self reported well-being and bad dreams.

It was predicted that negative personality characteristics, neuroticism and negative affect would be positively correlated with the negative dream emotions of anger, apprehension or fear, sadness, confusion or shock) and that positive personality characteristics: optimism, hope, life satisfaction, positive affect and need for cognition would positively correlate with the positive dream emotions of joy or happiness, love, contentment, interest or excitement. We found that there was a significant association between neuroticism (emotional stability) and dream apprehension and sadness. If neuroticism can be equated with low well-being this finding would confirm that of

Blagrove and colleagues (2004) who found correlations between low well-being and prospective unpleasant dream frequency.

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING 48

There was also a negative relationship between hope for oneself and dream confusion and excitement, and between the simple need for cognition which was related to dream excitement. The former might be seen as the dream confusion and dream excitement reflecting a waking sense of hope which was positive but not yet defined.

Whilst the need for cognition might include an enthusiasm or desire to know more that prompts dream excitement. Alternatively, the psychoanalytical element of displacement in dream analysis recognises that it is not uncommon for waking emotions to be portrayed reversed in dreams (see p. 74).

It was predicted that there would be positive relationships between waking emotions and the same or related dream emotions. There was a significant association between each of the waking and dream emotions when averaged over 3 weeks. The effect of taking averages over three weeks would be to emphasise individual differences and to suppress daily variation in emotion. There was a substantial and statistically significant correlation of 0.40 between the waking measure of joy and the average of the four negative dream emotions. There was a similar correlation of 0.37 between waking love and the negative dream average. There were also equally significant correlations of

0.48 between the positive waking average and the negative dream average, and 0.42 between negative waking average and positive dreaming average.

The individual differences which are reflected in these correlations also include response tendencies of some participants to rate higher or lower, and this may have contributed to the overall positive relationship between positive and negative emotions illustrated above. The size of the correlations could also have been due to an underlying factor of emotionality or emotional responsiveness that may have influenced all ratings.

Another factor for consideration is that participants have been influenced by a

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compliance set to increase their ratings for waking and dreaming emotions of the same type. While it is not possible from the data to eliminate this possibility, it does not sit well with the counter-intuitive positive correlations discussed above. As noted in the results section the possibility of type 1 errors cannot be excluded in interpreting these findings.

The results achieved may also have been influenced by the composition of the participant group which contained a larger percentage of older people than the average university based experiment using only members of the student population. The participants for this study were recruited, from the School of Psychology (receiving credits for participation), the general university population and the community at large.

Students were recruited by the researcher visiting at the end of lectures to offer information about the study, answer questions and inform them of the credits which would be awarded for participation. Members of the general public expressed interest in the study in response to press articles or radio interviews or flyers seeking dreamers who remembered their dreams and who had an interest in exploring their dreams further. The ratio of students to non-students was approximately 2: 3. The participants who were members of the general public therefore had a strong interest in dreams, were more mature and as such may have been particularly diligent in recoding waking and dream emotions. Thus the results for study 1 are different to those obtained in previous research in this area.

It is also relevant to consider the possible influence of waking life variables on dream reporting, as has been noted by previous researchers (Beaulieu-Prevost & Zadra,

2005, 2007). Despite efforts by the researcher not to indicate the study hypotheses during the participant induction, simply by asking that they record and rate waking and dreaming emotions in the ELDD, some participants may have guessed the hypotheses

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behind the study, and consequently angled their responses, even if not deliberately, towards its fulfilment in an effort to support the researcher or the perceived study outcome. Use of external raters to identify the emotions is one possible way to mitigate inappropriate response tendencies in participants, however this has been shown in other research to increase the tendency for mis-reporting in other ways (Fosse, Stickgold, &

Hobson, 2001). Therefore, there is no perfect method for collecting this kind of data and the possibility of participants, perhaps unknowingly enhancing their responses, and the limitation this imposes has always to be acknowledged.

It was expected that data on waking emotions would augment the capacity of personality characteristics to predict dream emotions. This was found to be the case for some of the dream emotions (excitement, sadness, apprehension and confusion), although the dream emotion of love was predicted by waking joy with waking love and sadness being significant secondary predictors; still, by far the strongest predictor of dream emotions overall was participant’s experience of the same waking emotion.

However, as discussed earlier the possibility that demand characteristics may have caused some increase in the size of the correlations should be considered.

Hartmann reported that the intensity of negative dream emotions was stronger in home reported dreams than laboratory reported dreams where there was a tendency towards more positive dream emotions being reported (Hartmann, Zborowski, &

Kunzendorf, 2001). This latter finding was confirmed in the findings of a 2005 by St-

Onge, Lortie-Lussier, Mercier et al., which additionally found that more dream emotions both positive and negative were reported in home dreams. Whilst another

Scandinavian study of dreams recorded at home which found more positive dream emotions were reported concluded that the increase was due to the collection

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techniques, i.e. recording in the home environment where the dreamer slept better and felt more comfortable than in a sleep laboratory (Fosse, et al., 2001).

Conclusion

For this study participants were recruited who were specifically interested in and remembered their dreams. It might be argued that this improved the likelihood of results beneficial to the hypothesis. The size of the correlation obtained between waking and dream emotions does certainly differ substantially from those of previous researchers. It may be that a randomly recruited group who were not particularly interested in and did not generally remember their dreams would have produced results similar to previous research. Without knowing the full recruitment criteria for all the previous research studies that would be difficult to prove or disprove. The converse is that the recruitment process we employed was specifically designed to and did recruit participants strongly allied to dreams and therefore allowed the research to focus more tightly on the specific aims i.e. to explore the connection between waking and dream emotions and the effect of an individual’s personality characteristics, state and trait on their dreams.

The use of the ELDD for participants to record their own emotions in a home setting may have increased the likelihood of participants recognising and recording more emotions, producing the substantially different results obtained by this study in comparison to those of previous studies, whilst at the same time concurring with the findings of others (Fosse, et al., 2001; Hartmann, et al., 2001; St-Onge, et al.,

2005). However, whilst the results may be different from previous studies as was the collection method (ELDD), this does not in any way negate them.

Our results clearly indicate that there are associations between some personality characteristics and the emotions experienced in dreaming, in particular neuroticism was

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found to be associated with the dream emotions of apprehension and sadness. We confirmed that dream emotions are strongly correlated to waking emotional experiences for both negative and positive emotions. Whilst personality characteristics alone have limited use in predicting the emotions experienced in dreaming, the addition of waking emotions to personality characteristics increases the predictability of dream emotions.

However, by far the strongest predictor of dream emotion is the parallel waking emotion.

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Chapter 3

Intra-Individual Relationships between Waking and Dream Emotions

Literature review

Domhoff’s Continuity hypothesis (1996), arrived at after many years of dream research, contends that dreams reflect the waking concerns of the dreamer. A longitudinal study carried out over a ten year period by Pesant and Zadra (2006) produced results that were consistent with Domhoff’s hypothesis, although they were concentrating more on dream content, rather than dream emotion. There have also been several other studies that have confirmed the effects of day time emotions and events on the content of dreams. For example, in 1978, waking anxiety was found to correlate with nightmare incidence in some individuals (Cellucci & Lawrence, 1978). Hartmann states that strong emotions experienced in waking life appear in dreams as a central contextualised image (CI). This image is more prominent within the dream dependent on the strength of the waking emotion (Hartmann, 1998). Investigations into the dreams of recently traumatised individuals will often contain images which symbolise engulfment which is proposed to be a contextualisation of the overwhelming emotion they carry from the trauma they suffered (Hartmann, 2003). Another study by

Hartmann developed a scale for measuring the CI which showed that the intensity of the image was strongest in the dreams of victims of trauma and that the emotions most frequently reported were fear / terror and vulnerability / helplessness. Interestingly, they also discovered that the intensity of negative dream emotions was stronger in home reported dreams than laboratory reported dreams where there was a tendency towards more positive dream emotions being reported (Hartmann, Zborowski, & Kunzendorf,

2001). This latter finding was supported in a 2005 study by St-Onge and colleagues who additionally found that more dream emotions, both positive and negative, were

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING 54

reported in home dreams. Another Scandinavian study of dreams recorded at home found more positive dream emotions were reported and concluded that the increase was due to the collection techniques, that is recording took place in the home environment where the dreamer slept better and felt more comfortable than in a sleep laboratory

(Fosse, et al., 2001).

Schredl and Doll (1998) challenged the research stating that the prevalent emotions in dreams are generally negative, showing that different measures for rating dream emotions altered the results. These researchers compared three methods; the Hall and Van de Castle well-established model for scoring of specific dream emotions, rating of the intensity of emotions by a judge, and self-rating of the intensity of the dream emotions by the dreamer. Schredl & Doll found that only the ratings produced by the methods external to the dreamer supported the premise that negative emotions are more frequent than positive ones, whilst the dreamer’s self-ratings produced a more balanced positive / negative result (38.2% positive; 42.6% negative). It could, therefore, be concluded that external raters have a tendency to judge dreams more negatively than the dreamers themselves. And perhaps, that the dreamer themselves are the only ones who can accurately rate their dreams as positive or negative.

In their new neurocognitive model of dreaming (NNMD), Levin and Nielsen

(2009) propose that failure to regulate waking emotions is responsible for nightmares.

They believe that during normal sleep the brain integrates both neurophysiological and cognitive functions to reduce distress by changing memories associated with fear into nightmare imagery. They concluded that in order to dispel fear there are three steps: activation of the memory, memory-element recombination, and expression of the emotion during which the neural networks are fully activated and focussed on decreasing the negative emotions. From the above studies it is therefore reasonable to

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conclude that whether through a central image created as a reaction to a waking concern, or because of emotion engendered by neurophysiological processes to control overwhelming feelings from waking life, the emotions appearing in dreams are related to those experienced during waking.

Investigations specifically exploring the effect of emotions experienced during dreaming on the following day's emotions or mood are difficult to locate. Hartmann, proposed emotions that a dream might produce after waking states reflect that “some dreams have very profound effects on the dreamer similar to the effects of a work of art” (Hartmann, 1998, p. 68), perhaps in the sense of being moved emotionally, but maybe with limited ability to express the exact affect. Ritchie and Skowronski (2008), looking at the recall of dreams, explored the emotional impact and lasting effects of dreams, but they were primarily concerned with the rate at which the dream emotion fades with the retelling of the dream over time. They discovered that negative affect seemed to fade quicker that positive affect. They were however looking at the emotions associated with recalling a dream between seven and ten days after it occurred. With waking events, even with retelling of those events, is likely that the impact will decrease over time, so with the more ephemeral dream emotions a fading is to be expected.

A study conducted in China of the emotions experienced before, during, and after dreaming sleep, found that contrary to previous western studies, positive emotions of interest, exhilaration and enjoyment were pervasive in the dreams, with anxiety being the only common negative emotion (Yu, 2007). Yu found correlations between the intensity of the emotions at all three measuring points but interestingly the mean scores recorded for 13 of the 15 emotions measured showed the intensity of emotion reported was higher before dreaming sleep than the intensity the participants reported

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that after dream sleep with more emotions were ranked negatively post sleep. The findings of this study with regard to positive emotions are interesting, but because of major cultural differences (i.e., the Asian tendency to make judgements around emotions / well-being based on collective / family influences rather than from an individual, ego-centric point of view encountered in Western cultures) the results may not reflect similar findings if the target group had been western students (Hu, 2012;

Nguyen, 2002).

The present study will concentrate on the emotional aspects of dreams; investigating the relationship between the emotions experienced in dreams, the emotions experienced the day before the dream, and whether dream emotions are carried forward into the next day to affect the emotions during waking, testing the

Continuity Hypothesis of Domhoff (1996). The data analysed and reported in Chapter 2 demonstrated a high correlation between waking and dreaming emotions averaged over a substantial number of days. These average ratings may be considered as indicators of well-being in that they represent the average emotional state of the person. It is not clear, however, if the daily fluctuations in waking emotion also impact on the subsequent dream emotions (leading to a moderate correlation between them if sufficient data are collected by an individual person recording dreams and waking emotions on a daily basis), or alternatively if dream emotions, positive as well as negative, impact on waking emotions the following day, as has been reported in the case of nightmares. The purpose of the present study was to collect data over a prolonged period (daily over eight weeks) so that there is sufficient data to calculate intra-individual correlations to investigate these questions.

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Method Participants

Participants were recruited from the people who had engaged in the previous 3 week study who indicated an interest in continuing onto the second study. The second study involved recording dreams and waking emotions for a further 8 weeks and attending dreamwork sessions on a weekly basis (see Chapter 6). Thirty-two participants started the study their ages ranged from 17 to 83 years of age (M=45;

SD=22.5). Females accounted for the majority of participants (f=29, m=3), and participants were from a broad socio-economic population with differing backgrounds.

They included retirees, social workers, university students, designers, artists, housewives, public servants, nurses, a waitress, an author, an actor, and a psychologist.

All participants had indicated a strong interest in dreaming and were already recording their dreams.

Materials

Every participant attended an induction session during which they were issued with the Emotions Log / Dream Diary (ELDD) and reminded of how they should be completed. In particular, the scoring of emotions for intensity and duration on the 8 point scales was stressed. The categories of emotions were revised and, as with the first study, lists giving examples of emotions which might fall under each category were provided. During a question and answer session participants’ concerns and queries were addressed by the researcher. Participants then had to confirm that they understood, and were happy with, the conditions for participation in the study and that they wanted to continue.

As in Study 1, the ELDD consisted of a week’s supply of back-to-back sheets which the participants completed before going to sleep to record and rate the intensity

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& duration of emotions experienced during the day, as well as key events, issues and thoughts they had experienced whilst awake. Upon waking, details of dream scenarios and intensity and duration of dream emotions were recorded and rated overleaf. If dream content could not be remembered, but emotions were evident upon waking, participants recorded those emotions. Eight categories of emotions were recorded; 4 negative categories: Anger; Apprehension / Fear; Sadness; Confusion / Shock; and 4 positive categories: Joy / Happiness; Love; Contentment; Interest / Excitement. These categories were rated on eight-point likert type scales with end-points of not at all (0) to intense (7) for intensity of emotion and end points of not at all (0) to all of the time (7) for duration of emotion.

Procedure

Data was collected over a period of 8 weeks. When the participants attended the weekly dreamwork sessions they exchanged the previous week's completed ELDD and were issued with a new one for use during the coming week. In the event of an upcoming public holiday on their usual meeting day, two weekly ELDDs were issued to ensure continuous recording.

Results

The basic method of analysis was to calculate intra-individual correlations for each participant using emotion ratings for the waking day and subsequent dream and for the dream and following day. The most challenging aspect of the data analysis was the large amount of missing data (as many participants did not record dreams on more than three nights per week). Even if there had been full dream recall a total of 56 pairs of data points, is still not large for assessing correlations. Participants were excluded if there were fewer than 20 pairs of waking-dreaming observations collected by that person in the eight week period. A sample size of 20 could be considered quite small to

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estimate a correlation, but as there were over 30 participants it was hoped that some clear patterns would emerge despite large random fluctuations. The correlations and the numbers of observations on which they are based are summarised in Tables 3.1 to 3.3.

Additional descriptive statistics are provided in Table 3.4 which indicates the means and standard deviations for the intra-individual means and standard deviations. The analyses are presented in full in Appendix A44.

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Table 3.1 Summary of Intra-individual Correlations Between Negative Emotion Ratings for

Waking Day and Subsequent Dreams (rwd), and Dreams With Following Day (rfd), and the Number of Ratings on Which the Correlations are Based.

rwd rfd nwd nfd

Anger (N=20 participants) Median .02 -.06 39 37 Minimum -.18 -.24 21 20 Maximum .44 .34 53 52 No. significant (p < .05) 1 0 Apprehension (N=19 participants) Median -.01 -.06 38 36 Minimum -.37 -.28 21 20 Maximum 1.00 .36 53 52 No. significant (p < .05) 2 1 Confusion (N=19 participants) Median .01 .05 39 37 Minimum -.31 -.16 22 20 Maximum .99 .38 53 52 No. significant (p < .05) 2 0 Sadness (N=16 participants) Median .14 .06 39 37 Minimum -.28 -.14 22 21 Maximum .44 .32 53 52 No. significant (p < .05) 2 0

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Table 3.2

Summary of Intra-individual Correlations Between Positive Emotion Ratings for

Waking Day and Subsequent Dreams (rwd), and Dreams With Following Day (rfd), and the Number of Ratings on Which the Correlations are Based.

rwd rfd nwd nfd Contentment (N=18 participants) Median -.06 .02 39 37 Minimum -.36 -.27 21 20 Maximum .28 .27 50 49 No. significant (p < .05) 1 0 Excitement (N=20 participants) Median -.04 -.00 39 37 Minimum -.21 -.23 21 20 Maximum .99 .38 53 52 No. significant (p < .05) 1 0 Joy (N=19 participants) Median .03 .01 38 36 Minimum -.21 -.35 21 20 Maximum 1.00 .25 53 52 No. significant (p < .05) 1 1 Love (N=16 participants) Median -.01 .03 41 39 Minimum -.19 -.23 21 20 Maximum .44 .34 53 52 No. significant (p < .05) 1 0

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Table 3.3

Summary of Intra-individual Correlations Between Total Negative Emotion Ratings and Total Positive Emotion Ratings for Waking day and Subsequent Dreams (rwd), and

Dreams with Following Day (rfd).

rwd rfd nwd nfd

Total Negative Emotions (N=20 participants)

Median -.08 -.04 39 38

Minimum -.35 -.21 21 20

Maximum 1.00 .38 53 52

No. significant (p < .05) 3 1

Total Positive Emotions

Median .04 .04 39 37

Minimum -.42 -.22 21 20

Maximum .99 .22 53 52

No. significant (p < .05) 3 0

It appears that the number of statistically significant correlations is more or less what would be expected on the basis of chance, bearing in mind that the number appears to be increased by several anomalously high correlations of .99 or 1.00 which probably reflect a questionable method of rating by one participant. On the other hand it is possible that some of the correlations of the order of .40 or more may reflect stable idiosyncratic patterns in particular individuals. Whether or not these patterns are consistent and replicable could only be ascertained by collecting more extensive data on the same participants.

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Table 3.4 Means and standard deviations of the intra-individual means and standard deviations for all waking and dreaming emotions of participants with at least 20 nights of dream emotions recorded (N=21)

Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean W D W D W D W D W D Ang Ang. Appr. Appr. Sad. Sad. Conf Conf Neg Neg

n 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21

Mean .71 .80 1.33 1.90 1.06 1.02 .89 2.31 1.01 1.56

Median .76 .72 1.36 1.98 .97 .65 .71 1.83 1.00 1.33

S. D. .43 .67 .82 1.02 .75 .99 .76 1.32 .59 .95

SD SD SD SD SD SD SD SD SD SD W D W D W D W D W D Ang. Ang. Appr. Appr. Sad Sad Conf. Conf. Neg. Neg.

n 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21

Mean 1.11 1.26 1.40 1.92 1.29 1.41 1.27 1.76 .83 1.09

Median 1.05 1.47 1.41 1.92 1.35 1.55 1.24 1.85 .85 1.05

S. D. .44 .73 .41 .59 .69 .73 .73 .50 .31 .48

Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean W D W D W D W D W D Joy Joy Cont. Cont. Love Love Exci. Exci. Pos Neg

n 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21

Mean 2.26 1.33 3.27 1.53 1.87 .89 2.69 2.11 2.54 1.49

Median 2.34 .84 3.43 1.21 1.73 .44 2.57 1.86 2.52 1.31

S.D. 1.43 1.12 1.45 1.31 1.52 1.16 1.38 1.37 1.25 1.03

SD SD SD SD SD SD SD SD SD SD W D W D W D W D W D Joy Joy Cont Cont Love Love Exci Exci Pos Neg

n 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21

Mean 1.43 1.53 1.43 1.63 1.24 1.15 1.46 1.70 .90 1.09

Median 1.43 1.62 1.41 1.69 1.25 1.29 1.42 1.70 .85 1.11

S.D. .40 .57 .57 .60 .57 .73 .48 .57 .29 .46

Note: Median number of observations = 40; W = waking, D = dreaming, Ang = anger, Appr = apprehension, Sad = sadness, Conf = confusion, Cont = contentment, Exci = excitement.

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Only in the case of sadness is the median correlation above .10, suggesting the possibility that there may be a small carryover of sadness experienced during the day into dreams the same night. There are no median correlations above .10 between dream emotion and emotion the following day, suggesting that the effect, if any, of dream emotion is relatively short-lived.

Discussion

The results of the present study are clearly different from the much larger inter- individual correlations obtained in Study 1. The magnitude of the intra-individual correlations is more in accord with the previous literature. There are a number of possible reasons for this difference. First, the inter-individual correlations (Study 1) reflect similarities between waking and dreaming emotions across different people and will be larger if participants exhibit consistent differences in levels of such emotions. A more diverse sample in factors such as age and motivation would therefore potentially contribute to larger inter-individual correlations. It is obvious that such inter-individual correlations will be different from measures within an individual that reflect only changes in that one person’s dreaming and waking emotion ratings from day to day

(Study 2).

Second, there is no published literature on intra-individual correlations to which the present results may appropriately be compared. This is because it is very difficult to collect sufficient longitudinal data to estimate the correlations. If a person remembers an average of four dreams per week there will be 32 observed data points arising from the 8 weeks of data collection and 24 missing values. According to Cohen (1992) a sample size of 28 should be sufficient to detect a large effect (r=0.5), whereas a sample size of 85 is needed to detect a medium effect (r=0.3). In practice, the missing values in

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Study 2 were more extensive than anticipated. There were fewer dreams than 4 per week for most participants, and to retain half the participants in the study a criterion of

20 data points was used for the correlations. Unfortunately, while this would have been appropriate for large or very large effect sizes, the results obtained were correlations that were small and inconsistent. In retrospect, a small number of case studies with greatly extended data collection periods may have been a better strategy to collect useful data. However, it should also be acknowledged that this was a pioneering attempt to address a question of considerable practical and theoretical importance to those working with dreams using a longitudinal data collection methodology.

Third, in relation to how individual difference factors such as age and motivation may have contributed to the inconsistent findings, it has already been noted that if the effect size is medium or small it requires a larger sample size to detect it reliably than was available in eight weeks of data collection. Accordingly, if the relationships between dream emotion and waking emotion the previous day are not uniform for all emotions and all personality types, a diverse sample means that clear patterns are less likely to emerge from the preponderating noise of sampling error and response biases.

The small and inconsistent intra-individual correlations between waking and dreaming emotions suggest that dream emotions relate to particular themes and imagery that may not be triggered by emotions from the previous day, but by particular themes, issues or concerns that impact upon the dreamer. In line with the continuity hypothesis of Domhoff (1996) the dream images and emotions may be an indication of the overall type of concern rather than being a reflection of the predominant emotion of the previous day. Likewise, in line with Hartmann’s central contextualised image theory,

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the emotions in dreams may represent a ‘traumatic’ emotional event which can have occurred long before the dream takes place.

Nielsen has been involved in several studies dating back to 1989 exploring the dream-lag effect (Nielsen, & Powell, 1989, 1992; Nielsen et al, 2004; Powell, Nielsen,

Cheung, & Cervenka, 1995) in which their participants recorded daytime events and the content of their dreams; they were not specifically asked to record emotions. Over a number of years Nielsen and his colleagues found that significant daytime events appeared in dreams not just a) on the night of the day in which the event took place but sometimes in dreams b) between six and eight nights later. They have called these two phenomena a) the day-residue effect and b) the dream-lag effect. They concluded that the waking events which were most likely to be subject to the dream-lag effect were ones in which there could be a necessity for time to consider options for responding to situations. Nielsen suggests this finding supports the proposal that dreaming “facilitates adaptation to the stresses and emotional difficulties of interpersonal relationships”

(Nielsen, Deslauriers, & Baylor,1991, p 298). The method used for their 2004 study required participants to record home dreams for one week then they were asked to select a single dream and recall from memory events happening on a randomly selected day up to seven days before the dream. The participants rated their confidence in recalling events and the level of connection, if any, between the waking events and their dream. The recalled events were then rated by judges for correspondence with the dream. To ensure all seven days before the dream were represented different participant groups were instructed to remember events from different days. Analyses showed that the optimum time for an event to appear in a dream was 7 days + or – 3 days. Of the

470 participants who started the study 370 were able to complete all the requirements.

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Conclusion

The results obtained in this study were inconclusive and hence, add little to the field of dream research and do not provide evidence that emotions from the day before a dream that may be carried into a dream are then carried on to effect the emotions experienced during the next waking day. However, the results from study 2 are more in line with those obtained by different researchers working in similar areas. Unlike the results of Study 1 which considered the occurrence of emotions from waking in dreams across groups of people, Study 2 explored the occurrence of waking emotions in dreams and dream emotions affect in waking life of individual participants. The sample size was smaller, the data collection period longer. Following on from the previous 3 weeks of data collection the 2nd study’s 8 weeks of data collection may have become trying for some participants. As this data was also being collected at the same time as participants were attending weekly dreamwork sessions, it may have been that their attention was more on the dream interpretation possibilities that on the transference of emotions between waking to dreams and dreams to waking.

In future research, rather than just measuring and tracking emotions from waking to dreams and from dreams to waking, it may be more fruitful to additionally consider the impact of dream imagery, symbolism and events. The most conclusive evidence of the usefulness of including this was provided in a verbal report from one of the Study 2 participants, which provided support for Nielsen’s dream lag effect

(Nielsen, & Powell, 1989; Nielsen, & Powell, 1992; Powell, Nielsen, Cheung, &

Cervenka, 1995; Nielsen et al, 2004). The participant was invited to act as a judge for a

College fashion show. She had been nervous and doubtful of her ability to “do the job well” yet elated to get through the experience “with flying colours”. A week after the

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show she dreamed about judging a fashion show and experienced emotions of pride, doubt and satisfaction, which she reported improved her confidence in approaching the challenges she faced the following day. However, with the measures used in the 2nd study, and the emotions were recorded, the reasons for the emotions were not clear.

Future research in this area should endeavour to utilise measures which facilitate the impact of dream imagery, symbolism and events to be taken into consideration.

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Chapter 4

Approaching Therapeutic Dreamwork

This chapter defines and explores dreamwork, examining some of the approaches to working with dreams in therapy and those used in dreamwork research. It looks at the guidelines and ethical requirements for dreamwork and also the general considerations necessary when planning to run groups in order to ensure participant safety.

Defining Dreamwork

Dreamwork is a process whereby a (usually trained) individual called the dreamworker, engages with a person or group of people to help the dreamer/s explore their dreams in an attempt to make sense of them in relation to the dreamer’s waking life, to gain insights, and to identify options and actions to improve their life. The involvement of both the dreamer and the dreamworker in the process are both influential with respect to the therapeutic outcome (Hill, et al., 2007). This is now a commonly accepted tenet in dreamwork, along with the dreamer retaining ownership and control of the dream sharing process being crucial (Ullman, 1982). Studies have confirmed that greater depth, insight and emotionality is experienced, and more self- understanding gained, by interpretation of one’s own dream than from interpretation of the dream by another person (Hill, et al., 1993; Hill, Nakayama & Wonnell, 1998). In comparing dreamwork with other therapeutic interventions in individual work, Hill states “results suggest that dream interpretation is more effective than similar techniques…dreams seem to provide a unique stimulus that helps people gain self- understanding.” (Hill, 1996, p. 198).

In many dreamwork approaches dreams are thought to be messages from the unconscious; this idea dates from early psycho-analytical approaches. Freud is

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frequently referred to as accepting dreams as “the royal road to the unconscious,” although the quote is actually not Freud’s but written by Andre Tridon in the foreword to Freud’s book Introduction to Dream Psychology (1920).

Some researchers dispute that dreams are a route to the unconscious. For example, Pesant and Zadra (2004) assert that there is no evidence of hidden meanings in dreams, nor that particular elements of a dream represent specifics of the dreamer’s life. However, they also suggest, that dreams do contain new information about the dreamer themselves.

Despite the disagreement in the literature, the present research (as detailed in

Chapter 5) will explore whether it is possible for the dreamers to make connections between waking life and their dreams and as a result of understanding those connections, to improve their waking well-being. In the following section an overview of the ways that different psychological approaches view dreams will help to set the scene for the reader.

The way in which the symbols, metaphor and puns conveying the dreams are interpreted, is dependent on the school of psychology to which the dreamworker subscribes.

Psychoanalytical – Freudian.

The full quote from Tridon, an early psychoanalyst and psychoanalytical author illustrates the strong belief of the importance of dreams as messengers from the unconscious within the early psychoanalytical movement:

“Thanks to Freud's interpretation of dreams the "royal road" into the

unconscious is now open to all explorers. They shall not find lions,

they shall find man himself, and the record of all his life and of his

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struggle with reality. And it is only after seeing man as his unconscious,

revealed by his dreams, presents him to us that we shall understand him

fully. (Tridon, preface to Freud, 1920, p.ii)

In Freudian dream analysis free association is often used to try to see past the disguises that the unconscious uses in dreams. Sigmund Freud used dreams to assist in the treatment of patients with neurosis. He believed that dreams are the ultimate avenue to explore the unconscious. Freud proposed there are four main ways in which the latent dream content, believed to be repressed unconscious wishes, become transformed into the manifest dream recalled when awake. He called these elements condensation, displacement, symbolization, and secondary revision (Freud, 1910).

Condensation is the mechanism whereby two or more dream elements are combined into a single image. For example, a dreamer may dream of a man with a handlebar moustache riding a unicycle with ease and aplomb but the figure may be a condensation of a well-balanced, confident friend and a lecherous work colleague whose actions remind her of the villain in a silent film.

Displacement is where an emotion relative to one situation may be transferred to another such as when a dreamer is overwhelmed by the work required for a particular project and the dream involves being overwhelmed by a giant wave whilst surfing.

Displacement can also include a total reversal of emotion (e.g., deep sadness may appear in the dream as elation or joy) or a complete suppression of emotion (e.g., dreaming a loved one was being whipped with a cat o’ nine tails on a pirate ship and the dreamer feeling quite unmoved, non-empathic or non-distressed by what was happening). If one dreams of killing one’s brother then in psycho-analytical terms one may in fact feel the opposite emotion of deep love and / or sexual desire for him.

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Freud looked for ways in which the mind, in dreams, finds symbols to represent the genitals and the sex act as he believed one of the major forces of dreaming is expression of buried primitive or infantile sexual wishes, which the dreamer would be ashamed to acknowledge in waking life. Therefore, in a Freudian approach to dream analysis church steeples, telegraph poles, traffic cones, screws, daggers, bananas, indeed anything long and cylindrical, would be interpreted as a phallic symbol. Bowls, mugs, doughnuts, open manholes, or any other circular object would be regarded as symbols to represent the vagina. The sex act is thought to be represented symbolically by a phallic object penetrating something else (e.g., a nut and bolt being screwed together; a masher penetrating a pan of potatoes; a rolled-up scroll being forced into a cardboard postal tube, or an action with an up and down motion like surfing).

Secondary revision, according to Freud, is the way in which the waking mind deals with displacement in dreams. Puzzled by our dream we have to make sense of it in our terms (Clark, 2005). Taking the example above of being overwhelmed by a giant wave whilst surfing; on waking the dreamer may try to make logical sense of it by relating it to a fear of being swept away by a Tsunami which had been reported on the TV news a few nights earlier.

Despite his strong views on the meaning of dream symbolism, Freud insisted on the patient’s associations to a dream being essential in order to reach its final meaning

(cited in Faraday, 1997, p. 107) thus, acknowledging that universal symbols are likely to have different meanings for each dreamer. This concurs with the approach of many dream workers today. Whilst some Freudian devotees may still be as definite in their interpretations as Freud was, generally today’s dream workers would not presume to know what the symbols in someone’s dreams mean. Rather, their role is one of helping the dreamer work out for themselves what the symbolism represents to them.

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Jungian

Originally a colleague of Freud, Carl Jung became less interested in the exploration of dreams as treatment for neurosis and more concerned with a positive approach, using dreams as a tool to develop even greater understanding / awareness of other life dimensions. He believed that finding the understanding within dreams would improve the dreamer’s life as a matter of course, “the fact is that the approach to the numinous is the real therapy and inasmuch as you attain to the numinous experiences you are released from the curse of pathology.” (Jung, cited by Dunne, 2003, p. 134).

Numinous is an expression Jung borrowed from Rudolph Otto who identified three types of awareness: the conscious, unconscious and what he called the numinous consciousness: an experience of the holy; of grace; of participation within a sacred dimension in life.

The difference between Freudian and Jungian approaches to dreams was that

Freud focused on the neurotic while Jung was concerned with the numinous. When criticising Freud’s approach to dreams, Jung pointed out that just as waking life is made up of a complexity of physical and psychological needs, combined with emotional or instinctual responses to those needs, so dreams are engendered by a similar complexity of elements. Therefore, to assume that all dreams might have an explanation based on symbols they contain was too simplistic. Jung moved on from his work with Freud because he saw the unconscious as more ‘spiritual’. He believed dreams are a way of communicating with the unconscious, (even the collective unconscious), as serving to assist the waking self in problem solving and towards achievement of wholeness.

(Dunne, 2003.)

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Gestalt

Frederick (Fritz) Perls, who originally trained as a Freudian analyst, developed the Gestalt (German for whole / complete) approach to therapy. He like Jung decided to move away from a focus on neurotic patients and instead to devise short term, group approaches for ‘normal’ people wanting to embrace personal growth. Gestalt therapy is concerned with the ‘here and now’ not with stories of the past (Faraday, 1997; Hill,

1996). He believed that the details of human behaviour, such as body-language, were indicative of gaps in a person’s personality developed in order to avoid pain. The objective of Gestalt therapy is to identify and integrate the gaps into the whole. Perls regarded dreams as an existential message reflecting where a person was with themselves and with the world at that time. He worked with dreams in groups attending to every image in a dream, regardless of how it appeared, as an alienated part of the self. He would ask the dreamer to bring the dream to life by acting it out. In becoming each of the images (organic or inorganic) themselves, and seeing the events of the dream from that object’s viewpoint, the dreamer might view the purpose of objects in their dream differently. Further, Perls as the group facilitator saw dreams as a way to integrate the self, believing the way in which the dreamer, acting as an object, reacted to other objects in the dream or even responded to questions about objects in their dream, provided clues as to the areas of the personality which were not integrated.

The differences between the three approaches described thus far are succinctly expressed in the following quote:

“…to sum up the various approaches by means of analogies,

I might use a steam kettle for the Freudian-related approaches,

a rotating mirror for the Jungian approach, and someone filling

in holes for the Gestalt approach. In the case of the steam kettle,

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something under pressure succeeds in getting out but in a

different form. In the case of the mirror, the rotation of the

mirror reflects the unknown side of the self. The Gestaltist

is busy preparing solid ground by filling holes left over from

the past” (Ullman & Zimmerman, 1979, p62).

Other dreamwork approaches have been used in research for examining psychosomatic illness, especially with recurrent nightmares or bad dreams that affect waking life. These include, but are not restricted to: Behavioural Therapy (Brown &

Donderi, 1986), Lucid Dreaming (Spoormaker, van de Bout, & Meijer, 2003; Zadra &

Pihl, 1997), Imagery Rehearsal Therapy (Krakow, 2004; Krakow, et al, 2001) and

Hypnotherapy - Pre-sleep instructions (Belicki & Belicki, 1986; Belicki & Bowers,

1982; Flowers, 1995). A brief description of these approaches follows.

Behavioural therapy

Behavioural therapy aims, through systematic desensitisation, to reduce waking anxiety. This technique is based on the Joseph Wolpe’s reciprocal inhibition principle

(Wolpe, 1961). Wolpe, an early behavioural therapist, believed that anxiety is a result of conditioning or learned behaviour and as such can be ‘unlearned’. This unlearning is achieved by helping the client to learn relaxation techniques, then gradually to re- introduce the anxiety causing situation. The idea of this approach is that through repeated exposure to the anxiety causing stimulus under relaxed conditions, the client is progressively able to tolerate the stimulus without a negative reaction (Wolpe, 1961). In dreamwork, the anxiety around sleep resulting from the fear of re-experiencing nightmares or bad dreams is treated by getting the dreamer to relax and relive the

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details of the nightmare whilst awake. This might occur through the dreamer relating the dream to the therapist several times or by the therapist retelling the nightmare to the dreamer. Either way, the objective is for the anxiety experienced by the dreamer to reduce with each re-experiencing of the bad dream to the point that they are no longer afraid to encounter the nightmare or bad dream during sleep.

Lucid dreaming

Lucid dreaming is based on the premise that whilst dreaming, people can become aware that they are in fact dreaming and as such can control their dreams.

Stephen LaBerge (2004) describes two types of lucid dreams: dream-initiated lucid dreaming (DILD) or mnemonic-induced lucid dreaming (MILD). That is to say, ‘pre- programming oneself’ to recognise when dreaming is happening and to remember the dreams. This goal is achieved by concentrating intentions for dreaming, visualisation of those intentions, and by developing the ability to recognise a dreamsign or marker within the dream that tells the dreamer they are dreaming and need to pay attention.

Training also includes ways of improving dream recall and recording, which is essential to be able to study and understand dreams (LaBerge, 2004). Depending on the level of lucidity achieved by the dreamer, there are claims by some dream specialists that through MILD it is possible to decide before sleep what one will dream about and thus, pre-programme for happy, adventurous, peaceful or even erotic dreams (Thompson,

1997). The use of lucid dreaming therapeutically is through teaching the dreamer to become aware when they are dreaming so they can decide what happens next (Hearne

& Melbourne, 1999). This is an especially useful tool with children suffering from bad dreams or nightmares. For example, if they dream they are being pursued by a frightening creature then as it is their dream they can endow themselves with special electricity shooting fingers and just turn round and ‘zap’ the creature. According to

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Thompson (1997) this approach appeals to, and is particularly useful for, children who have seen television serials, usually animated cartoons, about people who develop special powers (e.g., Spiderman, Legion of Superheroes).

Imagery Rehearsal Therapy

Imagery Rehearsal Therapy is a cognitive behavioural technique in which the dreamer, whilst awake, is encouraged to create an improved scenario for their nightmare and to rehearse a different outcome by visualising the changed nightmare.

The technique has to be practised regularly whilst awake. Clinical trials over three months with chronic nightmare suffers showed a significant decrease in the number of nightmares that clients experienced and resultant improvement in quality of sleep. This technique has also proved useful for people experiencing nightmares as a part of PTSD.

Not only did the approach reduce the nightmares, but also decreased other PTSD symptoms (Krakow, & Zadra, 2006).

Hypnotherapy – Pre-sleep instructions

Hypnotherapy has been used for the treatment of people with psychosomatic illness for many years (Belicki & Belicki, 1986; Belicki & Bowers, 1982). To a large extent the success of the treatment depends on the ability of the clients to accept hypnotic suggestion. Belicki and Bowers found that whilst pre-sleep instructions could not alter the events occurring in dreams, they could affect the ongoing attention that dreamers paid to certain aspects of those dreams. Therefore, dreamers struggling with nightmares or bad dreams could be instructed to give only passing attention to the negative aspects of their dreams and to pay more attention to the positive aspects of

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dreams. Therapeutically this could prove useful however the success of the technique is severely limited by the need to have clients who are susceptible to hypnosis.

One of the most prominent and frequently reported approaches to therapeutic dreamwork with individuals over the last 15 years has been Clara Hill’s cognitive- experiential dream model. Throughout the latter part of the 20th Century, Montague

Ullman was also contributing substantially to the field of group dreamwork, as was

Jeremy Taylor. The approaches of these three key figures are explained in more detail in the next chapter.

Studies have made comparisons (often as part of research reports introducing and supporting a new approach to dreamwork) between, and promoted the use of, a range of therapeutic dreamwork approaches (Alperin, 2004; Eudell-Simmons &

Hilsenroth, 2007; Pesant & Zadra, 2006; Shuttleworth-Jordan & Saayman, 1989), and between facilitated and self-guided dreamwork sessions (Heaton, et al., 1998). All have found positive outcomes from dreamwork, whilst Heaton et al. found that dreamers achieved much better outcomes when using a dreamwork facilitator, than when working alone. However, such research either involved single sessions of dreamwork only, dreamwork just with individuals, a Jungian analytical therapy group to test different approaches for lessening participant defensiveness, or dreamwork with groups of women specifically chosen because they were recently separated or divorced. It is the intention of the current research to work with several facilitated groups of participants from diverse backgrounds chosen solely for their interest in, and ability to, remember their dreams over a series of dreamwork sessions without a specific therapeutic intent.

Does the personality of dreamer or type of dream affect the outcome of dreamwork? Hill et al. (2001) identify characteristics of dreams and dreamers which

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best predict a successful outcome as pleasant dreams and dreamers who are interested in exploring their dreams. Whilst it is very beneficial to the dreamworker to have clients who are able to discuss their dreams and offer pleasant dreams to work with, the present researcher’s experience has been that much self-understanding can be gained through exploration of negative dreams as well as through positive ones and that clients who are less able to express themselves can gain great self-understanding from the dreamwork process.

Dreamwork group facilitation

Facilitating a dreamwork group requires more than just knowing about dream theories and dreamwork approaches. Any group is made up of several people with differing hopes, desires and wants. As such, part of the facilitator’s role is to be knowledgeable about the needs of group members. In order to provide the fullest level of support during the dreamwork groups, it is necessary for the group facilitator to be aware not only of the dream theories previously discussed, but also the ways in which participants communicate, stages of group processes, the roles participants may play in the group, and how people learn. The group facilitator also has a responsibility for the mental and physical safety of each group member.

The needs of group participants have been defined through the work of Will

Schutz, who developed his theory of Fundamental Interpersonal Relationship

Orientation (FIRO) in 1958. FIRO is a theory of interpersonal behaviour that looks at three major aspects of human interaction. Schutz suggests that the three prime needs which individuals seek to meet in their interpersonal experience are: inclusion or the need to belong; control or the need to establish a satisfactory level of security, and openness or the need to satisfy the desire for relative closeness towards others that is outside role and status demands (Schutz, 1958). These needs are met in order. Inclusion

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has to be felt before control can be addressed and then openness can be shown once security has been established. There can be discrepancies between the amount of any of the three needs that a person offers and the amount they wish for or need.

In his model of group development, Tuckman proposed four linear stages of group process: Forming, storming, norming, performing. He maintained that every group goes through these phases, regardless of the objective of the group. It is important for the facilitator to understand and recognise the group stage so they can be prepared for the type of issues that may emerge. During forming, the initial stage in the group process, the participants try to discover what is expected of them and to make a good impression. They look to the facilitator for guidance. The facilitator has to be prepared to answer many questions, explain the group processes, and the objectives of the session. In the dreamwork groups this will include the negotiation of ground rules to enable participants to feel safe. Negotiating the ground rules will lead into the storming stage when the group purpose is clearer but there is still uncertainty as groups are notoriously bad at agreement. The facilitator has to expect challenges whilst participants are trying to establish themselves and get their needs met within the group and in relation to other group members and to the facilitator. Power struggles may occur which could distract from the group objectives and compromises may need to be facilitated. The facilitator’s role at this stage is to focus the group’s attention on the task in hand and away from emotional or relationship issues.

At the norming stage compromises are made and agreements reached. Roles and responsibilities are clear, there is respect for the facilitator and some of the leadership may be shared by participants. There is a sense of commitment and unity of purpose and there may be humour and fun within the group.

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The performing stage is when the group knows what it is doing and why, norms have been established, and processes are well understood. The group has a task- oriented focus. Decisions are discussed and made within the group on the basis of prior knowledge and with minimal assistance from the facilitator. Disagreements may occur but they are resolved by negotiation within the group. In a successful dreamwork group, there is a strong sense of the group owning their own process. Ten years after Schutz introducing his four group stages, Tuckman added a fifth stage adjourning (sometimes called deforming or mourning). This is the time when the group has completed the task that the group was set up to perform and is breaking up. Some people are not able to cope with this stage and find reasons to leave the group early, others who have built good working relationships can feel a sense of loss, even grief. It is important at this stage for the facilitator to focus on achievements, both individual and group, to allow participants to express feelings within the group space (and be available for individuals outside the group time if necessary) and for participants to make their own arrangements for continuing contact outside the group if they wish (Adapted from

Tuckman, 1965).

Group roles.

Participants in groups can take on roles within the group which they may have chosen or that may have been overtly or covertly assigned to them by other group members. There are many models which propose various definable roles. Such roles vary in number. Kuypers, Davies & Glaser (1986) identified four roles: dependency leader, disciplinarian, conciliator, and nonconformer. The model used by Belbin (1981) proposed nine roles: plant, specialist, monitor/evaluator, implementer, shaper, completer/finisher, teamworker, coordinator and resource investigator. Twenty-six group member roles were identified by Kenneth Benne and Paul Sheats (1948). Almost

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always, group members have a mix of roles and will have dominant and sub-dominant roles. It is important for the facilitator to be aware of the roles that group members might take on and to try to ensure that any bias created is mitigated in a positive fashion

(Taylor, 2007).

Communication.

The facilitator needs to be skilled at observing both participant’s verbal communication and their body language. It is considered essential that the facilitator is able to encourage participation from the person sharing their dream at any particular moment whilst at the same time having an awareness of the body language of other group members. Thus, the impact of the dreamer’s contribution on another participant is able to be noted and if and when appropriate, acknowledged.

Participant safety.

Above all, the safety of the participants is paramount. In this research the author consulted with the Head of the University Psychology Clinic about the potential dangers of taking part in dreamwork activities that would explore and examine in detail, elements of a person’s life that were possibly highly emotional. This process of consultation resulted in the exclusion of applicants from the study who 1) currently or had in the previous two years received treatment or medication for a mental health condition; and 2) people who had experienced a close bereavement in the previous 12 months and who might still be undergoing the bereavement process. However, two applicants in these categories who were determined to take part appealed their exclusion and were required to consult with, and provide written approval from, their

General Practitioner or medical consultant and were therefore considered for participation. The group facilitator was fully aware of the condition of these two participants and was therefore alert for any signs of undue distress shown by any dream

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group members, but by these two participants in particular. The facilitator also checked at the start and end of each dreamwork session that these individuals were in a safe state to participate. As dreamwork groups were held in several locations throughout the state, the facilitator was responsible for ensuring the physical safety of the participants through adherence to the University Health and Safety requirements. These requirements included access to emergency exits and removal of any hazards (cables, furniture etc.). One participant used a walking frame so easy access to the meeting room was ensured.

Ethics in dreamwork.

The facilitator of a dreamwork group can have a powerful influence and as such needs to work in an ethical manner. The group participants are engaging in activities to find out more about their dreams that may result in the sharing and exploring of some very personal material. Therefore, confidentiality is an essential ground rule but the dreamer whose dream is being examined is open to influence from the facilitator or other group members. The International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD) has produced a statement of ethics for dreamwork to which all IASD members are required to adhere. The statement recognises the risks inherent in undertaking dreamwork and requires that whichever model of dreamwork is being used it respects the dreamer's dignity and integrity, and recognizes the dreamer as the decision-maker regarding the significance of the dream (IASD, 1997). Hill (2004) regards the risks of therapeutic dreamwork so seriously that she suggests that the facilitator needs to be a qualified and experienced psychotherapist.

When all the above requirements were in place the dreamwork groups could start. Rather than use an approach tied into any specific model of psychotherapy, it was decided to choose an approach which had been well tried and tested over decades,

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which ensured ownership of the dream remained with the dreamer who had full control of the process, that did not require the facilitator to be an expert in any particular model, and which clearly recognised the dreamer’s dignity and integrity. This is explained in detail in the next chapter where the dreamwork group study is reported.

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Chapter 5

The Role of Dreamwork Sessions in Improving Waking Well-Being

The results of the first study indicated that emotions experienced during waking were correlated with those experienced in dreams. However, the content of dreams: images, symbols and stories, which are recognised by many dream researchers as crucial to the understanding of dreams (Faraday, 1972; Freud, 1910; Hartmann, 1998), were not explored in that study. The intention with the following intervention study was to consider whether taking part in dreamwork, to gain a better understanding of their own dream’s content, can enhance dreamers’ well-being. It has been previously asserted that in single dreamwork sessions the participants who present with positive dreams deal with the process well and achieve a better outcome than those who present negative dreams and nightmares (Hill, Spangler, Sim, & Baumann, 2007). Therefore, in the present study using a longitudinal and strengths-building approach, it was hoped that encouraging participants who experience mostly bad dreams to consider a positive interpretation of their dreams would increase both dream positivity and waking life positivity. It was also postulated this increase in both waking and dreaming positivity would occur whilst working with both positive and negative dreams. Furthermore, dreamers who experience mostly positive dreams would increase dream and waking positivity and additionally experience increased insight and self-understanding. This hypothesis is in consistent with Fredrickson’s Broaden and Build Theory and Undoing

Hypothesis (2001, 2002a, 2002b) which suggests that the cultivation of positive emotions can negate negative ones, and lead to adaptive behaviour and changes in cognitive activity such that life experience can be enhanced. Isen also states that a growing body of research indicates that “even mild... affective states can markedly influence everyday thought processes.” (2003, p. 217). Accordingly, Study Three

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concentrated on exploring and reframing negative elements and building on positive elements in dreams. The study also explored whether there is a difference in outcome between working in a dreamwork group as opposed to a dreamer working individually with a dreamworker.

Although not everyone ordinarily remembers their dreams, almost everybody can learn to recall dreams. Many people are fascinated by their dreams and ponder what they mean for example, whether they have hidden meanings and/or, are a way of processing daytime events. To that end, dream dictionaries and books on dream symbolism abound, however there is still limited rigorous research about dreaming.

This study, the last reported for this particular suite of research, has the express purpose of understanding more about the link (or lack of) between daytime behaviour, emotions and thoughts, in relation to the content and mood associated with dreams and how dreamwork sessions, as an intervention, impacted on participant’s waking life.

This chapter reports on an aspect of the research presenting the experiences of 32 people who participated in dreamwork groups or individual sessions over a period of 8 to 12 weeks. The research was specifically interested in what thoughts the participants had regarding the utility, or otherwise, of the sessions in terms of how their waking life had been impacted. A background to the research follows.

Dreams as Guidance throughout History

Using dreams as guidance for waking life is not a new phenomenon. There are numerous examples in history of dreams being used to benefit individuals or communities, as well as for solving problems and providing inspiration. One of the earliest of such examples appears in The Bible in Genesis chapters 39 to 41 which records the dreamwork Joseph did with Pharaoh more than 2,000 years B.C. The interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams helped the Ancient Egyptians to prepare in the seven

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years of plenty so that they could survive seven years of famine. In ancient Egypt and ancient Greece there were temples devoted to dreaming where people would undertake a ritual preparation for sleep and dreaming under the guidance of a priest who would also assist in the interpretation of the dreams the next morning. This was done in the belief that the dreams would contain insight or answers leading to spiritual and/or physical healing. Over the centuries dreams have been credited with providing inspiration to people as diverse as novelists Mary Shelley, Robert Louis Stevenson and

Stephen King; scientist August Kekule; composers Ludwig van Beethoven and Paul

McCartney, and Elias Howe (inventor of the sewing machine). Indeed, so numerous are examples of dreams being used to aid people’s creative waking lives, that Deidre

Barrett (2001) was able to produce a whole volume detailing cases of sports people, scientists and artists who claim to have gained guidance from their dreams.

Dreams and Cognition: Functionality in Dreams

There are many theories about the function of dreaming. Neurophysiologists may dismiss the content of dreams as having no specific purpose, claiming they are merely a by-product of changes occurring in the brain during sleep and at times of rapid eye movement (REM) in particular (e.g., Hobson, Pace-Schott, & Stickgold, 2000).

More recent research by Robert Stickgold suggests that dreams have a role in memory consolidation and reconsolidation which occurs not only during REM but also during slow wave sleep (SWS) (Stickgold, 2005; Stickgold, & Walker 2007.)

Evolutionary psychologists posit that just as physicality is governed by genes passed down from ancestors, dreams and mental processes are similarly governed by inherited ancestral memories. They seek to identify the psychological adaptations humans have made through evolution in order to deal with the problems of survival.

Therefore, dreams viewed from an evolutionary standpoint, are drawn from the

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environment where our ancestors lived for hundreds of thousands of years, and are intended to “assist in solving survival problems.” (Valli, & Revonsuo, 2007, p. 95).

Flanagan (2003) is sceptical about Revonsuo’s hypothesis citing the work of Darwin and Ekman which he believes indicate that waking characteristics like “emotions and the affect programs that govern them are adaptations”, (Flanagan, 2003, p. 149) which have developed over generations in awake human beings to aid survival. He discounts what he sees as Revonsuo’s proposal that only those who developed the skill of dreaming in order to rehearse threats that might be encountered in waking life were the ancient humans who survived. Other critics of Revonsuo see his evolutionary theory for the function of dreams as “being far too narrow” (Humphrey, 2003, p. 164), preferring to see dreams as part of a natural childhood education contributing to development of the dreamer through “introspectively observable mental states” (Humphrey, 2003, p.

164), which the child may not yet have encountered in waking life.

Some researchers see dreams as having a psychotherapeutic purpose being necessary to ensure psychological well-being, to explore and reframe concerns from waking life and in some cases, to aid healing following traumatic situations

(Cartwright, 1996, 2008; Hartmann, 1998; Hill, 1996). This latter view, that dreams can be used to increase well-being is tested in the current research.

Within dreams the unconscious is thought to communicate through metaphor, symbols or puns. Ernest Hartmann found that spoken words occasionally appeared in dreams and written words are rarer (Hartmann, 2000). “Fromm identified three kinds of symbolism: conventional, accidental and universal.” (Shohet, 1989, p. 37).

Conventional symbols are objects which are familiar to anyone within a certain culture

(e.g., a fireplace would have a clear meaning to anyone from a developed country that experiences cold winters). Accidental symbols are those where the meaning is personal

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to the dreamer because of their life experience (e.g., a bull may have a specific meaning to a person who as a child had been constantly chastised for being clumsy ‘like a bull in a china shop’ as opposed to a person raised on a cattle farm). Universal symbols are ones where the meaning is generally understood by all cultures, (e.g., falling off a cliff is fearful).

Working in Dreamwork Groups

Having run dreamwork groups since 1972, Jeremy Taylor is convinced that sharing dreams within groups has many positive benefits for the people involved. He believes that working co-operatively in a search for meaning helps to create deeper understanding and closeness between the participants. Taylor asserts that working on dreams in groups builds a sense of community, intimacy, and support and he further asserts this can lead to a positive impact on society as a whole. Taylor has developed what he calls a basic dreamwork tool kit which gives essential ‘hints’ for running dreamwork groups (Taylor, 2004). The tool kit includes statements that indicate the potential for dreamwork having a positive effect on the dreamer’s well-being even if they are intended to make the dreamer sit up and take notice of something. In his approach to dreamwork Taylor (1992) makes 10 basic assumptions, these are:

1. All dreams come in the service of health and wholeness.

2. No dream comes just to tell the dreamer what he or she already knows.

3. Only the dreamer can say with certainty what meaning his or her dream may hold.

4. The dreamers “aha!” of recognition is a function of previously unconscious memory, and is the only reliable touchstone of dream work.

5. There is no such thing as a dream with only one meaning.

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6. All dreams speak the universal language of metaphor and symbol.

7. All dreams reflect inborn creativity and ability to face and solve life’s problems.

8. All dreams reflect society as a whole, as well as the dreamer’s relationship to it.

9. Working with dreams regularly improves relationships with friends, lovers, partners, parents, children, and others.

10. Working with dreams in groups builds community, intimacy and support and begins to impact on society as a whole.

Taylor believes the dream may be an early warning of threat, coming from the deep source within which has genetically evolved over 7 million years, so the dreamer can notice and take avoidant action (Taylor, 2004). This belief of Taylor’s ties in with the evolutionary psychology premise discussed earlier. Taylor also believes all dreams break new ground and invite the dreamer to new understandings and insights leading to personal growth (Taylor, 1992, 2004).

Montague Ullman is a key figure in this area of research whose work needs to be considered in relation to dreamwork groups. Ullman was a preventative psychiatrist who worked with dream groups for 40 years in many settings in Scandinavia and the

USA. In contrast to Freud, he believed that during sleep there are no defence mechanisms in operation (i.e., denial, repression, and rationalization are absent) therefore, people are more honest with themselves in dreams than when awake. He was interested in the fact that “apparently minor items of daily experience are held until the time is ripe to utilize in a dream their metaphorical potential” (Ullman, 1996, p. 89).

Acknowledging the fact that most cultures historically had paid more attention to dreams than had become fashionable in the late 20th Century, Ullman advocated a

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return to re-owning dreams. He talked of the positive benefits to be gained by the individual through dreamwork believing that three features of dream consciousness,

(relevance of the immediate situation, pertinent information from the past and reliability of information from the past,) when combined, can change the dream into a healing force. However, he thought that the healing could best be achieved when shared in a structured way: “...for a dream to be transformed into its fullest potential as a healing \ instrument it has to be shared with another or with others…. optimal healing involves more than one can manage alone… dream work is risk taking, and support is necessary…whatever secrets the dream holds, they are best dissolved in the act of sharing them with other people” (Ullman, 1996, p. 5).

Ullman used an approach, where there were no hidden psychological assumptions, no technical manipulations or pre-conceived ideas about the dreams involved. Ullman saw the group facilitator’s role as one of “orchestration” (i.e., helping the dreamer arrive at a sense of closure regarding the dream). He also advocated involvement of the group members in the dreamwork process by inviting contributions using the “If this were my dream ...” statement where the participants share their interpretation of the dream based only on their own life and not in any way related to what they may know about the dreamer’s life. To ensure an appropriate setting for dreamwork, Ullman provides clear guidelines for the dreamwork group facilitator’s duties as well as details of the underlying premises and principles to be used. (Sundstrom & Andersson, 2004)

Clara E. Hill has done much to advance research into the benefits of using dreams in a psychotherapeutic approach, usually in individual psychotherapy but also in group work with separated or recently divorced women (e.g., Falk, & Hill, 1995). In their 1995 study, Falk and Hill assessed dream-group participants against a control

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group for changes in depression, anxiety, coping, self-esteem and insight into their dreams. Following eight two-hour group sessions the dream group participants demonstrated greater control on self-esteem and insight measures.

There are numerous published papers covering different aspects of one-to-one dreamwork in a variety of contexts; Gardner & Orner, 2009 looked at the dreams of

PTSD sufferers’ pre and post therapy. These researchers suggest gains that are made in developing a sense of control over dream processes can provide a starting point for gaining control and a sense of empowerment in other areas of personal functioning, indicating the therapeutic healing possible through the use of dreams in individual therapy. If positive results can be achieved for people with PTSD by undertaking dreamwork, then it is hoped that it will be possible for groups of participants without any psychological difficulties to gain greater understanding and control of their dreams and to experience improvements in well-being as a result.

One might imagine that Freudian psychoanalysis, having a history of a hundred plus years, would have provided some literature around working with dreams specifically in group settings. However, in the psychoanalytical field there are papers detailing how therapists work one to one with clients on dreams. (Hill et. al., 2008;

Schredl et.al., 2000). There are papers on group therapy in a psychoanalytical setting, one of which reports that acting out of issues from waking life can be productive and sometimes lead to the issues that were acted-out being transferred to dreams from which the patient extracts additional understanding of the issue and is able to alleviate negative emotions experienced in waking life (Richarz & Romisch, 2002). Another reports on 6 patients participating in a therapy group which they found emotionally challenging who brought dream experiences to the group that not only mirrored the patient’s primary issue but also provided evidence of the individual’s positive

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perception of the group’s worth (Whitman, 1973). Searches of academic databases for psychoanalytical groups working primarily with dreams yielded scant results.

Enquiries of a psychoanalytical medical consultant at a local General Hospital, who contacted his network of colleagues in USA and Europe were unsuccessful in finding any published learned articles or indeed gleaning any evidence of current groups dealing specifically with dreamwork in the psychoanalytical field. This paucity of research is reflected in the few papers generally available on group dreamwork as mentioned previously and has so far been insufficient to confirm benefits with regard to well-being as a result of participation in group dreamwork (Hill, & Spangler, 2007).

There may be several reasons for this research scarcity. For example, there is difficulty in recruiting and co-ordinating several groups of participants to study; less opportunity to build rapport than with individual participants; difficulty in motivating participants to keep regular dream diaries; or to continue attending weekly meetings; ensuring participants feel safe enough within the group to be able to share their dreams and possibly expose their vulnerabilities to others; and challenges in providing opportunities over a series of sessions for each member to share their dreams if they wish.

A paper published two years after the completion of our final dreamwork group in 2009 provides an addition to the sadly still small pool of articles about the use of dreamwork in groups. Blechner’s account (2011) of using a dream group as a part of the training process for psychoanalysts confirms the dyadic dominance of dreamwork in psychoanalytical settings and the previous problematic nature of groups where a psychoanalytical approach is employed describing his own observation of such a group he reports:

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“Group members may volunteer interpretations of the dream that feel intrusive or shocking. They may also press the dreamer to explore aspects of the dream without regard for the defences of the dreamer” (Blechner, 2011, p. 407). Blechner then provides an account of the way in which he employs the Ullman approach with student analysts. The approach he describes is similar to the method used the dreamwork groups in this research which used a combined Ullman and Hill CEDM approach, though Blechner uses some additions geared towards a psychoanalytical training.

As a psychoanalytical training group Blechner was able to allow the group to experiment with the dream group process as a part of their learning. He describes a process whereby individuals within the group being advised by the dreamer that the dream was about the group were instructed to treat the dream as their own and thus gained knowledge about themselves as members of the group through another’s dream.

(It is interesting to note that the approach used with our dreamwork groups using the “If this were my dream…” and relating their comments entirely to the participants own lives allowed the same self-learning to take place.) On another occasion when a puzzling piece of artwork that had been created in response to a dream was brought into

Blechner’s group the Art Therapy technique of turning it upside down helped to reveal the dream’s meaning. The group coined the term figurative transposition for this action.

Blechner discusses the importance of group process in long term dream groups.

He advocates the allocation of group time specifically to discussing group dynamics that can change due to naturally occurring events which, if not addressed, can impair the groups functioning. This confirms the factors considered previously in Chapter 4 of this thesis under “Dreamwork group facilitation” which referred to Will Schutz’s FIRO theory on group life stages.

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In discussing the benefits of dream groups to student psychoanalysts operating mostly in dyadic situations Blechner posits that it can prepare them as practising analysts for participation in a clinical supervisory group where there will be a variety of views put forward about the dynamics of the analyst / patient relationship. He believes the student analyst will be able to hear and consider these views less defensively by transferring their experience and recognition of the value of different viewpoints from the dream group to the supervisory group. In the psychoanalytical therapeutic process it is in Blechner’s opinion, an ability to dream the dreamer, that is the skill the analyst develops by relating to other’s dreams in the dream groups, which will in one to one sessions enable the psychoanalyst to fully understand the dreamer’s dream (p. 417).

It is relevant to note that the process and benefits to student analyst members of his group described by Blechner mirror those used and experienced by participants in our dreamwork groups. It is also important to reiterate that Blechner’s paper describing a psychoanalytical training process for group dream work is a rarity in the literature.

With some therapeutic approaches e.g. psychoanalytical / psychodynamic the work is strongly focussed on the one to one therapist / client dynamic, in which the therapist’s interpretations are key, it is improbable that the elements of the Freudian

(psychoanalytical) dream interpretation process could be successfully used in a group setting and that the dreamer could retain control and ownership of their dream (see

Blechner quote p.94).

That having been said it is a fact that techniques similar to those used in the

Freudian one to one approach to dreams are found in other therapeutic group dreamwork approaches.

For example a dreamworker might ask a dreamer to consider if a figure in a dream reminds them of someone they know and to reflect back to the dreamer any

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statement they make about a figure being “perhaps a bit like Uncle George but also like

Peter the butcher” and to encourage the dreamer to be more specific about those aspects of the dream figure which belong to whom? This would closely relate to the psychoanalytical / psychodynamic condensation element of dream interpretation.

Similarly a dreamworker might ask a dreamer if they could identify an element of their waking life where they felt as if they were “feeling a similar sensation to the fear they felt in your dream walking along the edge of a cliff?” This would help the dreamer to identify the psychoanalytical / psychodynamic dream element of displacement. It is also not uncommon for a dreamworker to ask a dreamer struggling to understand their dream to say the first thing that comes into their head when the dreamworker repeats an element of the dream that has been shared “What is the first thing you think of when I say growth to you?” The dreamworker repeats the process two or three times to assist the dreamer to make connections which may not be immediately obvious. Thus, the dreamworker uses a technique similar to free association in a psychoanalytical approach. Finally, as in a psychoanalytical approach to the exploration of dreams, symbolism is encouraged in many dreamwork approaches and is often linked to an awareness of puns which may be present. In fact symbolism and puns in dreams are considered so important that input on them was specifically included in the induction of participants for the current study (see p. 107).

Some would criticise the qualitative data being collected from the dreamers themselves casting doubt as to its reliability when compared to quantitative data, which is seen as being less subjective. However participant’s self-reports regarding their levels of happiness and satisfaction have been found to be in accord with external ratings from others who knew the participants well (Diener, 1994; Sandvik, Diener, &

Seidlitz, 1993). Further studies have confirmed that self-ratings are stable up to six

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years after testing (Diener & Lucas, 1999). Thus, subjective assessment of well-being has become acceptable within the scientific community.

Despite previously mentioned assertions regarding the purpose of dreams and the utility of dreamwork as a therapeutic tool, published research on dreamwork in groups is very sparse, with few papers published to date. Much previous research about dreaming collects data from a small number of participants in a cross-sectional manner or over only a few time points. Hence, it is difficult to gauge the impact of working with a person and their dreams with regard to everyday life. Therefore, the present study aimed to fill this gap in current literature by examining well-being in a larger number of participants and took steps to try to alleviate some of the potential problems in dream research. For example, an induction session was held where participants were able to get to know each other a little before the actual groups started. This procedure is described in the following methods section. The purpose of the research is to provide evidence of the impact that being involved in regular carefully structured dreamwork group sessions has on the waking life of the participants.

Theoretical Background to the Current Dreamwork Groups

Originally developed as a way of training psychoanalytical therapists to work with dreams, Ullman’s approach to dreamwork reflects a generic approach. He offers strategies which he believes can be used by and “make for effective dream work regardless of the theoretical predisposition of the therapist” (Ullman, 1996 p. xviii). In discussing the usefulness of theories for dreamwork he states that whilst theory can be useful to enable exploration of specific data it can “become dysfunctional when adherence to theory has the effect of limiting the search for new possibilities” (p. 247).

He offers ideas drawn from his years of clinical experience after a precursor in which

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he stresses that an acquaintance with or acceptance of those views is in no way a prerequisite for engaging in dreamwork using the Ullman method of dream appreciation (the term he prefers to interpretation). In his dreamwork Ullman used an approach, where there were no hidden psychological assumptions, no technical manipulations or pre-conceived ideas about the dreams involved.

Ullman does recognize the connection between waking consciousness and dreaming consciousness and the way in which stimuli experienced in waking can impact on dreaming. He discusses the way in which unconsciously objects are recognized by the brain carrying out a memory scan in order to relate the object being viewed to known data. When the object is not recognized then the brain automatically scans the surrounding environment for clues in order to place and recognize the object. Ullman believes that we have a concern with the immediate future and so in preparation for what might be about to happen, “we scan the environment as well as our past to shed as much light as possible on what is happening in our present” (p. 248). When we are unable to resolve our need to identify something then a “tension of greater or lesser intensity” (p. 248) remains, its strength dependent upon the importance the situation. It is in sleep that the brain endeavours to resolve these lingering tensions, which can become the stimuli for dream formation; as in waking the brain scans the dream environment, now internal, in an attempt to recognize and make sense of the dream images created.

Introducing her approach to dreamwork, using the Cognitive Experiential Dream

Model (CEDM), Hill (1996) states that over history the theories surrounding the origin of dreams have changed. Dreams are no longer thought to be externally created messages sent from gods or demons as the ancients believed. Today dreams are thought to reflect “the waking thoughts and conflicts” of the dreamer (Hill, 1996, p. 43).

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Therefore, the use of a dream diviner or a belief that dream symbolism is universal so that the meaning can be discovered through dream dictionaries is no longer current.

What is accepted is that as dreams reflect waking thoughts and concerns the involvement of the individual dreamer in discerning the meaning of his or her dream is absolutely essential.

In the CEDM Hill believes she encompasses many of the previous theories about the functions of dreams. She sees experiential theories: where self-awareness is key, the dream is viewed as an experience in and of itself, getting in touch again with the emotion within the dream and the therapist and dreamer working together to make sense of the dream as fitting within the Exploration stage of the CEDM.

Psychoanalytical theories with a concentration on interpreting symbolism, scenario and images towards achieving a deeper understanding sit comfortably within both the

CEDM Exploration and Insight stages. Whilst the Action stage of the CEDM fits with those theories where using learning from dreams as a prompt to change aspects of waking life is the objective. Considering how information is stored in the brain Hill discusses the cognitive idea of schemata, she views schemata as “clusters of related thoughts, feelings, sensations, memories and actions … which can be … cognitive, affective and behavioral” (p. 49). Schemata are stored in not just a single area of the brain but scattered throughout in networks, the mechanism of which scientists have not yet satisfactorily understood.

Hill believes that when something triggers a particular memory all the schema associated with that particular and other similar memories are activated simultaneously.

During the day our schema are frequently stimulated by our everyday actions and interactions but because we are in waking conscious mode we discount all but the schema relevant to that particular action or interaction. However, other schema that

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may have been stimulated but discounted during waking life can appear in dreams as well as those which have been consciously acknowledged.

Hill subscribes to the theory that dreams are generated by things which are relevant to us during waking life. This concurs with Domhoff’s Continuity Hypothesis as discussed in Chapter 1 of this thesis. She further believes that stimuli which are not central to our waking actions can be noticed and “still have an impact on us at some subconscious level” (Hill, 1996, p. 52) so that later in dreams they can come into play.

She describes dreams as weaving “together a story that integrates the waking events with what is stored in the schema in an effort to make sense of the waking events” (p.

54). There is no way of predicting which associated schema will be activated or which imagery derived from memories accessed may be employed within the dream.

Metaphors are common within dreams though because of the idiosyncratic nature of dreams the images connected to the dream and the meaning of the metaphor will differ from dreamer to dreamer. Finally, Hill notes that sometimes the elements which are drawn from different schema during dreaming may not be associated with each other and thus create a bizarre dream in which the images are apparently unrelated to the dreamer’s waking life.

Hill developed the cognitive-experiential method for working with dreams in a therapeutic setting, it has three stages: Exploration, where the dreamer tells their dream, the facilitator asks questions and clarifies; Insight, where the facilitator encourages the dreamer to make sense of dream content in relation to their waking life; and Action, when the facilitator encourages the dreamer to consider making an action plan as a result of insights gained (Hill, 1996).When working with a group Hill also incorporates the Ullman technique of inviting other participants to contribute at any stage using the

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phrase “If this were my dream…,” thus involving other group members whilst ensuring the ownership of the dream under discussion remains firmly with the dreamer. In offering her cognitive- experiential dream model (CEDM) Hill makes six theoretical assumptions:

 The meaning of the dream is personal to the client and therefore its

meaning cannot be interpreted with a dream dictionary or standard

symbolic interpretations;

 Dreams reflect waking rather than unconscious conflicts;

 working with dreams in therapy should be a collaborative process

between the client and the therapist who should not be viewed as an

expert who knows the meaning of the dream;

 dreams are a tool for helping people to learn more about themselves;

 dreams involve cognitive, emotional and behavioural components;

 therapists need to have expertise in using the basic helping skills and

therapeutic techniques before they do dreamwork. (Hill, 1996, p 62;

Hill, 2004, p. 4).

These assumptions are broadly agreed within the dreamwork field, although the second is contentious in that many believe that stimuli from the external world can be absorbed into dreams and can make appearances in dreams in symbolic or actual form (e.g., a ringing alarm clock can be perceived as a fire engine bell or an alarm bell). The last assumption acknowledges that dreamwork can often result in the dreamer tapping into other psycho-therapeutic issues; therefore Hill stresses that the

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group facilitator needs to be a trained and experienced psychotherapist in order to support the dreamer at those times (Hill, 2004). For the purposes of the present research Hill’s 4th assumption is the most relevant: if “dreams are a tool for helping people to understand more about themselves,” it follows that greater self understanding will allow them to make better decisions about their lives, which will result in better well-being.

When using a qualitative approach to research as in Study 3 it is not usual to have a predetermined hypothesis. However, if there is an interest in considering whether there are effects on well-being associated with dreams it is essential to define well- being itself. In positive psychology considerable work has been done on subjective well-being, identifying three main components: being very happy, being very satisfied with life and experiencing low levels of neuroticism (Diener & Lucas,

1999). Happiness is seen as being about a person’s emotional state, how they feel about their world and themselves, whilst satisfaction with life is more about how a person views the acceptability of their life (Schwarz, 2002).

In considering the theoretical approach to study 3 it is also important to recognise that the group facilitator is a Humanistic trained therapist with twenty years’ experience of working with individuals and groups in a Rogerian / person centred approach and brings an unconscious competence of such to all her work. Therefore it would not be unreasonable to assume that whilst working within Ullman and Hill’s approaches to dreamwork she would also be working in a person centred way. Some explanation of Rogers’ theories is therefore appropriate.

It is reasonable to contend that the Positive Psychology movement grew out of, or was at least the natural progression to, the Third wave or Humanistic psychological

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theories introduced by Maslow and Rogers in the late 1950s. Called third wave because the Humanistic movement followed the Psychoanalytical then Behavioural approaches introduced before it by Freud and Skinner. Maslow and Rogers introduced the concept of self-actualization a belief that the human organism will innately move towards developing its natural potential. Rogers felt that this was often thwarted when we lose touch with our own internal locus of evaluation and seek to gain conditional acceptance from others (Compton, 2005). Martin Seligman, founder of the Positive Psychology movement recognised their importance by describing

Maslow and Rogers as “two luminescent figures” and he acknowledges that humanistic and positive psychology share the premises of “will, responsibility, hope, and positive emotion” (Seligman, 2002, p. 275). In the Humanistic approach patients stopped being regarded as sick people in need of a cure administered by therapists who knew more than they did. Instead they became referred to initially as clients then later persons working collaboratively with the therapists who were providing a person centred approach. Rogers believed that the clients knew within themselves what was right for them, that the therapists role was to help the client explore their situation, help them to identify options to help themselves to move forward and to support the clients as they implemented the chosen actions. Rogers’ Person Centred

Approach states that three core conditions are necessary for the therapist to work therapeutically with clients these are: respect or unconditional positive regard; empathy or the ability to view the world from the client’s frame of reference and genuineness or an ability to be real without the need for a professional façade. The person’s ability to progress towards their full potential is enhanced when offered the core conditions (Compton, 2005). Rogers said that the core conditions were not only essential but sufficient to enable clients to move forward. (Later a fourth core

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condition of spirituality or the ability to relate on a higher level to the client was added by Rogers but this has never been generally accepted in therapist education, probably because of the difficulty of teaching such a concept).

The theoretical basis to the dreamwork study 3 is a combination of elements from the Ullman and Hill methods but with input on puns, word association etc. The requirement to use “If this were my dream…” and try to relate the dream under consideration to their own life in order to encourage more self-exploration by all group members was made clear to group members by handout and induction (see p.108 & Appendix A.34).

Third Study

Method

Participants

Thirty-two participants from a larger study of dreams (N=123, Gilchrist et al.,

2007), attended weekly, two hour long, facilitated dreamwork sessions. Participants were advised during recruitment that they would be allocated to either a dreamwork group or they would be allocated to undertake individual dreamwork with the facilitator. There were 29 females and 3 males ranging in age from 17 to 83 years of age (M= 45; SD=22.5). Participants came from diverse backgrounds including: social work, teaching, nursing, engineering, household management, writing, creative art, university studies, retirement etc. The participants had already completed the

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previous 21 day study, indicated an interest in the dreamwork groups and confirmed their willingness to keep waking and dream records for at least eight weeks using the

Emotions Log and Dreams Diary (ELDD). Participants were either a member of 1 of

4 groups (n=27), or engaged in one-to-one sessions with the dreamworker (n=5). The intention had been to compare outcomes from group and individual dreamwork by randomly allocating participants, however the availability of five individuals from remote rural parts or the north of the State for whom a convenient group time could not be negotiated due to living over a wide geographical area and in one case being housebound due to a physical disability, meant that they were allocated to the individual dreamwork sessions. Three participants met individually with the dreamworker on campus, whilst those individuals who could not get to the University campus on a specified day were visited in their own homes by the dreamworker for one to one sessions.

Materials

Participants completed a daily ELDD devised for the larger study (Gilchrist et al.,

2007) in which they recorded each evening, the main events and key thoughts from their day as well as ratings of the emotions they experienced during the day for intensity and duration. The next morning participants recorded the content and the emotions of the dreams they had experienced and again, their emotions were rated for intensity and duration. Emotions were rated on an 8-point scale (ranging from 0 representing not at all to 7 representing intense for intensity of emotion; and 0 representing not at all to 7 representing all of the time for duration of emotion) against eight categories: anger; apprehension / fear; sadness; confusion/shock; joy /

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happiness; contentment; love; and interest / excitement. These categories were developed from earlier work by Domhoff (1996) for the negative categories and

Fredrickson (2002) for the positive categories. Participants received a guidance sheet giving details of the sorts of feelings which might be included under each of the categories to assist in their recording.

Procedure

All participants were briefed on the requirements of the study before giving their informed consent to be included in the dreamwork sessions. As in the larger study outside of the meeting rooms participants were identified only by a unique identification number. Over a period of 8-12 weeks, participants attended weekly dreamwork sessions, they also recorded their waking emotions, thoughts, daily events and their dream content and dream emotions experienced as well as their response to the dreamwork sessions. When participants were part of a group that usually met on public holidays, they continued to record in the ELDD even though they did not attend a dreamwork session. As a result some participants produced 12 weeks of ELDD records but attended only eight dreamwork sessions.

Before starting the dreamwork sessions, participants attended an induction session to familiarise themselves with the dreamwork process and to learn how everyone contributes to the dreamwork process even if they do not have a dream to share. They were told the facilitator would ensure everyone had a chance to share a dream over the series of sessions if they wished and that the time available would be apportioned fairly with no participant being able to monopolise the sessions.

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Participants were briefed on key variables in dream research such as the symbolism and puns which can occur in dreams. They were advised that the meaning of the dream symbol is personal to the dreamer (e.g., one person might dream about a beautiful fish which they interpret as ‘sexuality’, whilst a religious person might interpret the fish, the universal symbol for Christianity, as ‘spirituality’). Puns: as a non-linguistic ‘organ’ the unconscious may confuse words or expressions which sound the same but have different meanings (e.g., good buy vs. goodbye; tail vs. tale; a door vs. adore; growth - professional vs. malignant; getting-on - in years vs. a train; getting nowhere -destination vs. achievement). The dreamwork process to be used incorporated elements of both the Ullman and Hill approaches was outlined and stress placed on the fact that true understanding of any dream would only be clear to the dreamer themselves and therefore no-one, including the facilitator, would be offering interpretations of other people’s dreams except by using the “If this were my dream…” technique where participants relate the meaning of the dreamer’s dream to their own life (not the dreamers) to assist dreamers to explore the meaning of their own dreams. Participants were given the opportunity to ask questions and to get to know one another a little, although each retained the right to share only what they felt comfortable with sharing.

The participants undertaking one to one dreamwork with the facilitator also had a preliminary session where the same topics were covered and they were able to get to know the facilitator a little. At the weekly dreamwork sessions participants used their logbooks to provide material to contribute to the session. Notes were also kept by the facilitator recording the content of the sessions. Simple feedback sheets were available at each session for participants to use if they wished to record any ongoing

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comments about their experience of dreamwork. At the end of the series of sessions all participants were asked to complete one of the feedback sheets. The feedback sheets asked two open questions: 1) How do you feel that taking part in dreamwork sessions has affected you? (e.g., thoughts, feelings, actions) and 2) Is there anything new that you have noticed as a result of taking part in dreamwork sessions? The questions were deliberately vague to allow participants to answer in any way they wished. When the feedback sheet was first issued question 1) stopped after ‘?’ but some participants were at a total loss over how to answer so the (e.g., thoughts, feelings, actions) was added as outline guidance as it was considered broad enough not to be leading the participants to provide specific answers.

Group sizes of five to eight persons were agreed to facilitate relationship building.

At the first dreamwork session, each group drew up their own ground rules, which could be revisited and revised at any time if required because a new safety issue had emerged, thus ensuring each participant’s needs and concerns were addressed. If necessary the facilitator also contributed to the ground rules to ensure key safety points were included. Examples of these ground rules included: confidentiality, to allow participants to share private thoughts or elements of their waking lives or dreams without fear of disclosure outside the group; respect for other’s contributions

(being non-judgemental in the approach to another’s interpretation as it may not be their way but is valid for the contributor) and for those who did not wish to share; sharing participants could share as much or as little as felt comfortable about themselves or their dreams; and participants who had explored their dreams were not required to share the detail of any consequent action they chose to take but could do so if they wished.

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Dreamwork Process

The same dreamworker (a fully qualified psychotherapist with 21 years clinical experience and a diploma in therapeutic dreamwork) facilitated both the group and individual sessions to ensure continuity of approach and process.

Participants brought their weekly ELDD packs with them to the sessions to use as an aide memoire when sharing a dream with the group. The completed ELDDs were collected at the end of each session and a new weekly ELDD issued to each participant in return.

At the beginning of each session, as a means of reconnection, participants were invited to share in an opening round where they talked briefly about how they were feeling and how their week had gone. In the groups the facilitator then asked if anyone had a dream they wanted to share allowing time for the more reticent members of the group to volunteer if they wished. As there was usually insufficient time to explore more than two dreams during the dreamwork session, if more than one person offered a dream then each of the dreamers would be asked to provide a couple of sentences summarising their dream. The rest of the group would then decide the order for exploring the dreams offered. In the one-to-one work the dreamer decided which dream they wanted to share from those they had recorded since the last session.

The facilitator’s job was to listen carefully to the dream and the language used by the dreamer in their retelling, to ask any clarifying or expanding questions

(e.g., “Can you describe how the room was decorated?” “Where was the horse exactly?” “What were the voices like that you heard?”) The facilitator then repeated the dream back to the dreamer in as much detail as possible using the exact

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expressions used by the dreamer wherever possible. Sometimes the dreamer would add specific facts and if necessary correct the facilitator during the telling, thus the dream story became more detailed. After hearing their dream repeated by the facilitator and confirming the facilitator’s version was complete and accurate, the dreamer was asked if they would like to receive contributions from other group members. On a few occasions the dreamer refused explaining that just hearing their dream repeated by the facilitator had helped them to make sense of it. Although similar to the Ullman approach to dreamwork, this first section of the process also corresponds to Hill’s exploration stage in the cognitive-experiential dream model

(CEDM, 1996).

When contributions from the group members were welcomed, other participants were able to ask for clarification on any points within the dream before providing their contribution. The facilitator reminded other group members to contribute to the dreamwork by sharing their ideas about what the dream might mean for them, using the expression “If this were my dream….” and only relate their interpretation to their own life, not to try to interpret the dream for the dreamer based on what they might know of the dreamer’s life. When all the contributions had been received the dreamer was given the option to provide feedback on the contributions or not as they wished. Should obvious symbolism, metaphor or pun have been overlooked by the participants, the facilitator would draw attention to it by saying something like “I noticed that you were walking along a cliff edge in your dream and having trouble keeping your balance. If this were my dream I’d wonder if that image might have some other significance”.

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The facilitator would check when everyone who wished to had offered their ideas about the dream. The dreamer would then be asked “In light of your own exploration and the ideas offered to you by the others does your dream make any more sense?” Sometimes the response was negative in which case the facilitator would ask whether the dreamer had their own ideas or had received suggestions from other group members that they thought would be worth pondering upon for the next few days as possible routes to interpretation. Most participants would agree that they had. This part of the process is similar to Ullman’s and corresponds to the insight stage in Hill’s CEDM.

The dreamer had the option to share their insights with the group or not.

Regardless, the dreamworker would ask whether as a consequence of their insights they would consider taking any action in any other areas of their life. Again the dreamer could choose to share specific details or not. They were also aware that there was no expectation that they would ‘report back’ to the group at a later date with regard to any ideas for action they might share. Although in this study this final stage was specifically tailored to ensure the dreamer kept full ownership of the dream and their response to their dream, it does to an extent parallel the Hill CEDM action stage.

Occasionally even after the full dreamwork process a dreamer would have no idea of the meaning of their dream, which was disappointing not only for the dreamer but for the dream group too. However, at the next session the dreamer might advise the group that they had suddenly had an insight and could see what the dream was about.

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In the case of Jan detailed in chapter 6, she gained an additional insight to one of her dreams more than six months after the dreamwork session.

At the end of each group session there was a closing round in which participants were able to share any understandings or insights they had gained as a result of the session. This could be something gained from another’s dream but it had to relate to their own life not the dreamer’s. This stage of the process is similar to Hill’s Insight stage of dreamwork in the CEDM but activated as a result of another’s dream. Thus the participants were able to extend their own personal awareness as the result of sharing another group member’s experience.

The facilitator advised that if anyone felt unsettled / ungrounded or in any way distressed she would be available after the session to assist. Thus, the facilitator ensured the participants were safe to leave after the sessions. Finally the facilitator would remind dreamers that the two-question feedback sheets were available should they wish to make any comments. At the end of the final session of dreamwork all participants were asked to complete the same feedback sheet to reflect their experience of the series of dreamwork sessions.

The one-to-one sessions were run to a format as near as possible to the group ones with the facilitator offering ideas using the “If this were my dream….” approach.

At the end sessions were summarised by the facilitator with the dreamer being able to share any further insights they had gained. When appropriate the facilitator might share insights of her own with the individual dreamer.

Trustworthiness in qualitative research.

Reliability and validity are key concepts in quantitative research that pertain to the replicability of results over time and across situations and the extent to which the

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research accurately measures the concept being studied. These concepts are rooted in a positivist tradition and are viewed differently in qualitative research (Golfshani, 2003).

Qualitative researchers do not seek to determine causality, predict outcomes or generalise findings as quantitative researchers do but rather, qualitative research seeks to generate understanding about a particular phenomena. Morse, Barrett, Mayan, Olsen,

& Spiers (2002) assert that reliability and validity as concept s are misleading in qualitative research and that a more accurate term regarding rigor in qualitative research is that of trustworthiness. Trustworthiness can only be understood in this context when coupled with another core paradigm in qualitative research: constructivism (Golfshani, 2003). Within a constructivist paradigm, reality is created and reflected through interactions between a person and their environment which is developed, and is constantly changing, within a social context. To that end, a person’s construction of their world is of paramount importance; their views about themselves, their lives, their environment. Within the context of the qualitative study presented in this thesis, the dream group member’s views of their own well-being are valued as they reflect the construction the group members have of their own dreams and how those dreams are related to waking life, what is learned through analysing their dreams, and the ways in which this process impacted on the dream group members construction of their own well-being. Evidence of well-being was derived from the text shared by participants. The rigor or trustworthiness of the data is achieved through the process of executing the study and the analysis of data. In this case, a number of approaches were used to ensure trustworthiness. Firstly, the feedback from participants was not sought on a single occasion but rather, each time the group met. The relationship between participant’s views of their dreams and how they related to waking emotions was discussed at each meeting. A second way that trustworthiness was ensured was that the

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data (text) was analysed by two separate coders independently of each other before meeting to discuss themes and converge findings (please see Chapter 5 Results section).

A third way to ensure the rigor of the research was to use a multiple method design, in this case utilising both quantitative and qualitative methods. Using multiple methods of data collection and independent coders resulted in a number of different data sources that were drawn on together to answer the overarching research question posed in this series of studies. This approach is called triangulation and is another way of verifying results (Golfshani, 2003; Morse et al., 2002; Pope & Maysa, 1995).

Results

The comments from feedback sheets for both the group and individual dreamwork participants were combined onto one database, comments were noted against ID numbers only, so that there was no distinction between individual or group dreamwork participants. The full transcripts can be found in Appendix A36. Two experienced researchers independently extracted themes from the database comments reflecting participant’s experiences within the dreamwork sessions and other changes external to the sessions they attributed to taking part in dreamwork process. Using thematic analysis one researcher identified four themes, whilst the other identified five themes. Although the language used by the researchers differed the semantics were similar, by negotiating the language and combining two of the five themes identified by one researcher four main themes were identified that essentially reflected functional aspects of participating in the sessions. These were: 1) group work normalising own dreams; 2) greater knowledge and curiosity around dreams; 3) better insight and understanding of own life and 4) increased awareness and acceptance of own emotions.

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The individual dreamwork participant’s comments were separated on the database to identify any differences between the group and individual experiences. It was noted that all four themes were found across participants from the group sessions, whilst the individual dreamwork participants only recorded the latter three themes.

Group work normalising own dreams

In the first instance many people expressed that the sessions normalised their own dream content. Through sharing dreams participants increased their ideas about what dreams might mean. One comment which encapsulated this theme was “Others have similar problems…alternate possibilities of release, solutions and understanding”

(1246);

For many participants this was their first experience of sharing their dreams with other dreamers, and for some of group work in any context. It provided the opportunity for learning about group work by a) valuing the ideas of other group members “sharing

[with others] provided new insights into interpretation…” (1151), b) learning about others within the group “it was a privilege to share and hear personal things from new acquaintances…” (1257) and c) developing group work skills “I am no longer apprehensive about working in groups…” (1169). The dreamwork groups sparked the enthusiasm of some participants. One said “[I am] excited about the world of dreams and look forward to continue exploring them” (1257). The group process lead to an understanding that one’s own dreams were not so outrageous or weird and thus normalized the individual’s dream content so self-efficacy improved.

Greater knowledge and curiosity about dreams

Many participants found dream interpretation made connections to waking life, as a result bad dreams had less negative effect, “[I] get over bad dreams more quickly

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now” (1065). Participation in the dream sharing process increased the participant’s knowledge about dreams in general and gave them insight into what their dreams might mean. Although some people said that they dreamed less often during the period of recording their dreams, others reported an increase in their capacity to recall their dreams. The comment which best expressed the general response was “Present life [is] more enriched by taking notice of dreams and working out their messages” (1250).

Participants recognized that “unspoken thoughts [are] allowed to appear in dreams…”

(1059) and that through “Looking beyond….to the deeper significance…” (1257) they could work positively with their dreams even the bad ones. One participant reported that they had “Learned not to interpret so literally…” (1169) and thus were able to look beyond the obvious to discover their dream’s meaning.

Using new learning and insights regarding dream interpretation (e.g., puns) and focusing on what symbols or dreams meant to the dreamer in particular, rather than the previous practice of some people of using a dream dictionary, raised participant’s understanding and valuing of dream messages. Most of the participants made comment about making connections between experiences during the day and then dreaming about it. For example, one person said “sometimes [the messages] might be subtle but writing helps insight” (1291).

Twenty-five per cent of participants said they recollected their dreams less frequently whilst in the study and 15% said the opposite. One person commented that they took more care to record and hence, recall their dreams, and felt very disappointed if they didn’t (1233).

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Better insight and understanding of own life, leading to self-acceptance and better functioning in the world

Perhaps the most encouraging result for the therapeutic impact of participating in the dreamwork sessions was that better insight and increased self-awareness led to a greater understanding of self and to self-reported better functioning in the world, this was regardless of whether the participants had undertaken individual or group dreamwork sessions. Overall seventy-six per cent of participants reported a deeper self- understanding and changes such as increased self-efficacy (sense of personal strength) and improved relationships. Reports from 38% specifically mentioned an increased understanding of their emotions and 19% of people said their dreams, as discussed in the dreamwork sessions, raised issues they thought they had previously dealt with which enabled revisiting these issues and achieving closure. A specific comment was

“… [I] realise [the ongoing] effect of past experiences, especially childhood memories…they emerge later” (1217).

Through acknowledging and owning the events and images which appeared in their dreams and working out where they might have originated, participants found they could make better sense of their waking lives often experiencing “…a sudden flash which showed me meaning…” (1233), which led to more self-acceptance and better functioning in the world. One participant talked of a “determination to follow [my]

“own” leader… [being] more sure of right actions and choices” (1065). Others talked of knowing themselves better “I realize there are suppressed sides to [my] personality and

[I] should embrace them” (1202). Another reported “[I have] learnt … aspects of people in dreams may be aspects of self… [it] helps [to] understand what is troubling at present [in waking life]….and in subconscious” (1237).

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There were several comments indicating the development of more self- determination such as “[I have] more faith in following up messages in dreams with [a] resultant improvement in my own life and others” (1252); “I have improved a number of relationships” (1250). Having the self-confidence around options about when or if to undertake activities was indicated by other participants “[I] take more notice of dreams, give more consideration to their causes and origins but realise I do not have to find causes or origins” (1246). Whilst another participant reporting that they had made a decision to slow-down in their life said “[I take] time to contemplate, no urgency in deciding which tasks to undertake” (1233). Some participants mentioned positive changes in attitude “I moved from pessimism to realising it will work out” (1097) and

“[I am] more relaxed when confronting stressful situations. Less annoyed in irritating situations” (1217) These realisations resulted in participants being less hard on self

“realised I don’t deliberately fall down” (1181), this in turn led to a renewed sense of personal strength which was converted into actions for example, being more assured of choices made.

Increased awareness and acceptance of own emotions.

The dreamwork sessions also increased participant’s self-awareness and led to an acceptance of their own emotions. In other words, many people expressed that when emotions they would not normally be consciously aware of, (perhaps due to socialisation regarding the appropriateness of emotional expression,) were highlighted, this led to greater acceptance of those emotions as part of the self. Comments that epitomized the participants’ learning were “[Dreamwork] helped to understand emotions that could not be shown when awake” (1059) and “[I] feel dreaming about anger and frustrations must be good as they are usually suppressed [emotions]” (1199).

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Several participants reported improved relationships as a result of their heightened self-awareness, this meant they were more cognisant of their emotions and the effects those emotions could have on their behaviour. .” [I became] more aware of how dreams affect emotions and moods for the day” (1233). Another participant noted that “…analysing one’s own dreams breaks down walls built around them [anger & frustration] in real life….” (1199). One dreamer identified the importance of

“…understanding the link between dream emotions and coming events...” (1173). This increasing level of self-awareness led to changes in approach for some “[I have been] thinking more deeply about my relationships… [wanting] improved relationships…[I] realised what is important to me” (1257).

Particularly in the groups receiving feedback from other participants using the “if this were my dream ….” approach provided opportunities for dreamers to view their emotions in a different light “ [I was] able to see events from another perspective so feel less emotional about them… moved on” (1250).

The process of identifying the emotions in dreams and being able to validate those emotions through dreamwork enabled the participants to accept the roots and appropriateness of their feelings, most found this uplifting and freeing.” [I] feel very uplifted…” (1097), another talked about an “...added inner richness to self- relationship…” (1065). Unfortunately confronting emotions through dreamwork was not helpful for all participants; one empathised and “felt sad others have disturbing dreams…” (1191), whilst another found they were “…tremendously unsettled in some ways…” (1199). This last comment was offered by one of two participants (one in a group setting and one in individual dreamwork) who found increased emotional awareness distressing and were unable to make connections between dream emotions and their waking feelings. Additionally these two participants were undergoing major

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life changes (e.g., relocations / changing personal circumstances) over which they felt they had little control.

Overall results

The following table brings together comments offered under all headings and indicates the percentage of participants reporting specific key effects:

Table 5.1 Key Effects and Frequency of Effects Reported by Participants (n=21) After Taking

Part in a Series of Dreamwork Sessions.

Key Effect %

Deeper understanding of self 76

Better understanding of own emotions 38

Issues revisited, closure achieved 19

Connecting dreams to waking life 62

Less self-critical 19

Improved relationships 14

Less dream recall 25

More dream recall 15

More anxious and unsettled 9

No change 9

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Quantitative well-being measures

In addition to the qualitative data collected throughout the period of the dreamwork group, participants also completed objective measures of well-being. The same measures as described in detail in Chapter 2 (see p. 33) were used.-

The Staats Hope Scale (SHS) had two sub-scales: Hope for self and Hope for others.

Participants rated their wish for a specific item and their expectation for the same item.

The Adult Dispositional Hope Scale (ADHS) consisted of 12 self-descriptive statements. The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) was used as a measure of psychological well-being. The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) was used to measure affect experienced by participants during the previous week. The

International personality item pool (IPIP) measure (neuroticism) was used on the basis that low scores for neuroticism act as an indicator of emotional stability. The Need for

Cognition Scale (NFCS) was used to assess the participant’s tendency to demonstrate an interest in understanding life. The NFCS had two subscales for complex thinking and simple thinking. The Life Orientation Test -Revised (LOT-R) a self-report measure of optimism / pessimism

The Short Boundary Questionnaire measured the degree of separateness (thick boundary) versus connectedness (thin boundary) between a broad range of mental functions and processes.

The tests were completed by dreamwork participants before starting dreamwork sessions and during the final dreamwork session. There was also a control group of twenty-five participants chosen at random from the first study, who were not continuing on to the later studies. The control group completed the measures at the end of study 1 and six months later. Tables 5.2 and 5.3 present these data.

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Table 5.2

Means and standard deviations of changes in well-being measures (postest – pretest) for dreamwork participants (N=26) and control group members (N=25).

Measure Group n Mean Std. Dev. Std. Error Mean

IPIP Dreamwork 26 -9.42 4.82 .95

Control 25 -9.44 5.85 1.17

LOT R Dreamwork 26 -.96 4.50 .88

Control 25 1.36 4.06 .81

SWLS Dreamwork 26 .35 2.56 .50

Control 25 1.20 2.63 .53

ADHS Dreamwork 26 -.31 2.26 .44

Control 25 .16 2.95 .59

BQ Dreamwork 26 -.54 5.00 .98

Control 25 .36 4.48 .88

SHS W Dreamwork 26 1.04 9.50 1.86

Control 25 -3.92 16.84 3.37

SHS E Dreamwork 26 1.54 11.13 2.18

Control 25 2.52 8.80 1.76

PANAS X Dreamwork 26 .19 13.21 2.59

Control 25 1.20 8.42 1.68

NFCS Dreamwork 26 2.38 10.58 2.08

Control -25 -7.32 12.19 2.44

Note. change score = post-score minus pre-score.

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Table 5.3

Well-being measures t-test for equality of means of change of scores post-testing minus pre- testing.

Measure t df p

IPIP .011 49 .991

LOT R -1.931 49 .059

SWLS -1.175 49 .246

ADHS -.637 49 .527

BQ -.682 49 .499

SHS W 1.302 49 .199

SHS E -.348 49 .729

PANAS X -.323 49 .748

NFCS 3.039 49 .004

Note. t = t-value; df = degrees of freedom; p = probability

Discussion

From the qualitative findings it seems clear that for the majority of people who remember their dreams, and are prepared to share them with others, there are benefits to be achieved and that those benefits are achieved regardless of whether the dream work is done in a group or one to one setting, as one participant stated “[Dreamwork] helped emotionally and mentally” (ID 1202).The advantage of group dreamwork is that other participants can offer ideas about the dream which may help the dreamer. A further advantage is that there are a number of participants to offer their dreams for the group to consider, so the likelihood of there being no dream to explore in a session is small.

Against this there is the disadvantage that in a two-hour group session only one or two dreams can be shared effectively. For the facilitator there is the added responsibility of ensuring all group members, even the most reticent, are encouraged to share a dream

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(during the life of the group) and that no one person has more than their share of the attention or input within the group.

The disadvantages of one to one sessions are that two hours can be a long time for exploring just one dream, so although more than one dream can be shared the dreamer may feel they are being over-scrutinised after a few sessions. Another disadvantage is that only the facilitator’s ideas are offered to the dreamer. As the facilitator is a specifically dreamwork trained and experienced therapist, this might conversely be seen as a further advantage. Although, for the facilitator using the “If this were my dream..” technique demands a level of self-disclosure which is usually outside of the boundaries of the clinical relationship. Surprisingly, in the one to one sessions there was only one occasion when one of the five individuals did not have a dream to share. In this instance they were invited to share a previous dream and chose one they remembered from prior to the dreamwork sessions which had stuck with them. They were able to make sense of this older dream through dreamwork even though some months had elapsed since it had occurred. This suggests that there may be opportunities for therapeutically using dreamwork techniques for troublesome dreams no matter how long the dreamer has been carrying concerns about them, as well as working with recently remembered dreams that the client may bring to the clinical session.

Further therapeutic benefits are indicated by the fact that, although not required to do so, participants often shared details of insights from the previous dreamwork session gained during the intervening time. In therapeutic terms, the client’s work continued between the sessions. Another advantage of the approach to dreamwork described above is that the client remains in control, owning their dream and its meaning throughout the process. The therapist acts solely as a facilitator assisting the dreamer’s exploration. Thus, the client feels free to let ideas flow without fear of being

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challenged by ‘the expert’ as in a non-dreamwork therapeutic group. From the therapist’s point of view it is a simple approach, with evidence supporting its benefits, which can be effectively used either in group or one-to-one settings regardless of theoretical orientation.

The majority of participants regarded the dream workshops in a positive light and explicitly claimed their lives had changed in positive ways as a result of their participation for example, “[I developed] more self-awareness” (ID 1173). The following quotes also indicate heightened levels of well-being:

“Taking part in the dream work sessions helped in understanding my emotions that I could not show while awake. I now understand my emotions better and am now better equipped to analyse my dreams” (ID 1059).

“Yes – renewed strength of insight into my own “higher self” guiding me, through symbols and feelings of my dreams” (ID 1065).

“A lot of dreams deal with past traumas. However, these recent dreams have been re- framed in a different way in that I find myself not actually in the middle of a past traumatic event, but seeing that event from another perspective. In other words, I have

‘moved on’ and feel less emotion about that event/s” (ID 1250)

These comments could be seen as similar to the results of Falk and Hill’s 1995 study with divorced or separated women, which found after eight two-hour group sessions that the dream group participants demonstrated greater control on self-esteem and insight measures. The results also confirm Shuttleworth-Jordan’s 1989 research into Jungian therapeutic dreamwork models which showed that the participants had lower tension levels when they were actively involved in the dreamwork process as opposed to a non-collaborative process. The current participants’ feedback indicated

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that they enjoyed “active participation” (ID 1151) in the process which they found beneficial for personal development.

Many of the benefits reported by participants in this study were generally in improved well-being due to making connections between waking life and dreams. This occurred through better self-understanding, self- acceptance, valuing of own emotions and being less self-critical which led to improved self-efficacy and in turn, improved relationships, closure of old issues, and an improved ability to deal with current issues.

Thus, the majority of the participants found that through participating in dreamwork they were operating better in personal, family and social settings in their waking lives.

Whether the combination of improved self-awareness, better self-understanding, self- acceptance, valuing of own emotions and being less self-critical leading to improved self-efficacy, improved relationships, closure of old issues and an improved ability to deal with current issues can be claimed as an improvement in the participant’s well- being, can be seen by some to be arguable because the qualitative evidence consists of self-reports from the participants.

Peoples self-reports regarding their levels of happiness and satisfaction have been found to be in accord with external ratings from others who knew the participants well (Diener, 1994; Sandvik, Diener, & Seidlitz, 1993). Further studies have confirmed that self-ratings are stable up to six years after testing (Diener & Lucas, 1999). Thus, subjective assessment of well-being has become acceptable within the scientific community. This contributes to the validation of the subjective well-being themes identified by the two experienced researchers (one working for the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the other at another Australian University). Working independently they analysed the database of participants’ comments around their experiences within the dreamwork sessions and other changes external to the sessions that they attributed

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to taking part in the dreamwork process. The themes they identified were: improved self-awareness: better self-understanding: more self-acceptance: valuing of one’s own emotions: and being less self-critical. In turn these lead to improved self-efficacy, improved relationships, closure of old issues and an improved ability to deal with current issues, all of which can be seen as sitting within the definition of well-being given earlier “being very happy, being very satisfied with life and experiencing low levels of neuroticism” (Diener & Lucas, 1999).

Additionally, it is interesting to note that in 2011, two years after the completion of our dreamwork groups, Blechner described the benefits of using the Ullman approach in the training of student psychoanalysts. He records benefits to his students which concur with many of the positive findings with regard to the dreamwork participants reported in this thesis research.

Details of specific case studies can be found in the following chapter. A caveat with regard to valence is necessary at this point. The original study was titled “Dream

Emotions, Waking Emotions, Personality Characteristics and Well-Being”, during the induction and at the weekly dreamwork sessions participants were not told that dreams can increase well-being, they were told that the researcher did not know what, if any effect dream interpretation might have on well-being. Unfortunately, the initial recruitment flyer did include in small print as part of a larger statement “… exploring how regular weekly sessions with a dreamworker may help the dreamer to interpret their dreams and use their dream learning to improve their waking well-being.” There is therefore, a possibility that some participants may have remembered the last clause of that statement and unconsciously given responses which would confirm improved well- being. This could also have been the case as the rapport between the facilitator and the

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participants developed over the course of the dreamwork sessions. The facilitator was at pains in each session to advise participants that the effects of dreamwork on well-being would not be known until all the data had been collated and to ensure that she did not to react judgementally to any insights that participants shared in the sessions, thus steps were taken to try to mitigate valence. Further studies would help to establish the essential nature of the dreamwork process in the personal improvements reported above or whether similar results are to be gained through other non-dreamwork sharing processes carried out in an accepting environment.

In conclusion, this research has provided substantial evidence that participating in dreamwork sessions, in a group or individually, can have a positive impact on waking well-being. The vast majority of participants in this study reported that dreamwork has been a significant and positive experience which had resulted in various changes including elevated levels of self-understanding, awareness, self efficacy, improved relationships and a generally heightened sense of ability to more effectively deal with current life issues. Case studies in Chapter 6 provide some individual examples of these improvements. This research was unique in a number of ways such as the length of time the participants spent in dreamwork, the numbers of people data were collected from, and the level of detail and richness that was evident in the data. It is an exciting step toward understanding the mechanisms at play in dreamwork as therapeutic intervention with demonstrable positive outcomes.

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Chapter 6

Dreamwork Case Studies and Participants’ Experiences

This chapter looks at the participants’ experiences of dreamwork, includes several case studies illustrating the interpretations and insights they managed to gain, and details some of the actual ground rules they negotiated in order to feel safe to share their dreams. Case Studies are included for individuals who gave permission for their stories to be told. Where names and background details are provided these have been disguised in order to ensure confidentiality.

Ground Rules

Attending weekly dreamwork sessions was challenging for some participants, although they had attended an initial meeting and been briefed on the format of the sessions. One of the first tasks was to negotiate the ground rules that people needed in order to feel secure enough to share what they might considered as personal, intimate and vulnerable aspects of themselves. A long time was allocated to drawing up the ground rules, which it was agreed could be added to as necessary at a later date, if any group members felt that in practice the existing ground rules did not provide sufficient safety for them to be able to share and therefore needed additional rules to be added this could be negotiated with other group members. There were four dreamwork groups and five individuals working one-to-one with the facilitator. For the individuals negotiating the ground rules was relatively easy because they only had to ask the facilitator for what they wanted. With the groups sometimes it was necessary to explain why something was requested and to convince other members of the group of its desirability. Eventually consensus was reached with the help of the facilitator who reminded them of the details of the briefing and also contributed her ideas if necessary.

The ground rules for all the groups consisted of variations of the following:-

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Confidentiality, to allow participants to share most basic / private thoughts or elements of their waking lives without fear of disclosure in inappropriate places.

Share own dreams and own understanding of them as widely as they like but the dreams and information about other group members stay in the room.

Respect for other’s contributions, non-judgemental approach maybe not their way, but valid for the contributor.

Participants could share as much or as little as they felt comfortable with about themselves or their dreams. - Respect for those people who need longer before they are ready to share.

- Respect for others feelings if they seem to become emotional whilst sharing aspects of their lives or dreams.

- Do not tell others what their dreams mean but offer in the form “if this were my dream and taking it in the context my life, I would interpret it as ….”

- Participants who have explored their dreams are not required to share the detail of any consequent action they chose to take.

- Participants not to attend the group under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

It was also decided that there would be a brief opening round to re-connect and a closing round in which people could share what had struck them about the session whether it related to their own dream or the dream of someone else and if they wished any action they wanted to take as a result. As trust grew within the group people shared more and more.

Individual Case Studies

The case studies are drawn from approximately one hundred dreams that were shared over the 15 months that group and individual dreamwork sessions took place.

These are summaries of the dreams as told by the dreamer and of the insights reached

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by the dreamer. The dreamer’s ownership of their dream was paramount; their conclusions may not be the conclusions that others might reach if having the same dream. The dreams were told in much greater detail and the actual dream interpretation process would take at least one hour with contributions from other group members or the facilitator before all the summarised understandings were teased out.

Meg (47) was studying part-time in anticipation of a new career and a return to work after 25 years as a housewife. She was happily married with three children. She had not taken part in any dreamwork activities prior to joining the group. Meg’s dream was more of a nightmare as she had been woken by the images and had continued to be disturbed by the dream images whilst awake for a few days:-

“Meg was at home with her husband when the Police came to tell them that their youngest son (17) had been killed in a car crash whilst driving his father’s veteran car. Meg was stunned but strangely not distressed at the news. They were taken by the

Police to identify the body. The car was parked in the family’s own garage, their son was behind the steering wheel and his best mate in the passenger seat both with their eyes closed. There were no injuries to either of the boys and no damage to the car. Meg asked “Are you sure they’re dead?” The Policeman confirmed they were both dead.

Meg’s husband said “No, he can’t be!” and dragged their son’s body from the car laid it on the ground and started performing the kiss of life. Meg was distressed seeing her husband’s behaviour. She tried to drag her husband off their son saying “It’s too late, it’s too late.” Then she woke up in a panic. Since the dream Meg has been worried that their son might die in a car accident.”

Through dreamwork Meg was able to make sense of her dream. Her youngest child, a son, was due to leave home to go to University within a couple of months. The relationship between her husband and the son had been difficult for some time. The son

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was not allowed to drive his father’s ‘beloved’ veteran car. Although she had dismissed it, the thought had even crossed Meg’s mind that the car was more important than their son to her husband. She realised, based on her experience with their elder children that once the son went away to University, he was unlikely to return home to live again. Her relationship with him was good but she felt her husband was running out of time to try to build a better relationship before the son left. After talking about what her son leaving home meant to her, Meg realised she had been feeling that none of her children would ever need her in the same way again, that the youngest son’s departure marked the end of a stage of her life. Suddenly she declared, with a big smile, that the dream was not about the death of her son but about the death of a stage of motherhood for her.

This meant that Meg could reframe the dream and let her worry about her son dying in a car accident go.

Ruth (82), a fiercely independent elderly lady, lived alone. She was a widow who had no children and her closest relatives all lived inter-state. Although limited in mobility she was involved in local charity groups, kept active and was proud of the poetry she wrote, some of which had been published. Ruth had always been interested in dreaming but felt her own dreams were boring. She felt privileged to be selected to take part in a study at the University and mentioned that she felt happy to be helping someone with their research. Ruth had experienced just one repetitive dream for several years. Initially she was reluctant to share the dream feeling it was “silly” because it did not make any sense to her and the fact she kept repeating the same dream meant she did not have anything to share with the dreamwork group. After encouragement from other group members this is what she shared:-

“Ruth was getting on a train, which started to move and the doors closed as she sat down. She was worried in the dream because she didn’t know where the train was

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going. She asked the other passengers, families with children, if they knew where the train was going but no-one answered her. She decided she would get off the train at the first stop to check where it was going but the train just went faster and faster. Someone told her there were no stops till it reached the terminus. Ruth felt helpless sitting in the train not knowing where she was going to end up.”

When her dream was repeated back to her by the facilitator Ruth noticed the expressions “getting on” and “not knowing where she would end up”. She acknowledged she was getting on in years and that recently she had been wondering how much time she might have left and where she might end her days. She was also concerned about dying without doing anything with her life. However, she had been experiencing this same dream for many years, at least since she was middle aged, so she sensed it was about more than just getting old. As she was on a train journey it was suggested she might explore that as a metaphor for her life journey. Ruth shared that as a teenager she had enjoyed school and been looking forward to tertiary education but after her elder sister flunked out after only one year at University her father had said he was not wasting any more money on the education of his daughters. She had been very resentful of her sister whose behaviour had robbed Ruth of her chance to achieve her full potential and make something of her life. It emerged that for many years Ruth had considered herself a failure because she did not have a University degree. She had however, trained as a Nurse worked her way up to Nursing Sister and been in charge of a thirty-bed acute ward in a hospital for 30 years. She had also, in her 20s, been one of the pioneer women aviators in her country of birth. Ruth was asked to share with the group what sort of thing would have made her life ‘worthwhile’? She said she had wanted to do something special for humanity, to improve people’s lives. Drawing a parallel between the train journey and her life journey she realised she hadn’t been able

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to make the stops where she had wanted to make sure she was going in the right direction and she had lost her planned destination very early on. Later she acknowledged that in her thirty years in charge of a hospital ward she would have helped to improve the lives of thousands of people. It took Ruth some time to reframe her view of her life and acknowledge that the work she had done had been worthwhile; in the meantime she had not experienced the train with an unknown destination dream again in the 18 months after the dreamwork sessions ended at which time she moved

Interstate.

Jan (50) was a negotiator with a responsible HR job in a government department which required frequent inter-state trips. She had recently helped to organise a school reunion meeting up with people she had not seen for over 30 years.

She was married with two adult children living away from home. Originally from

Europe she and the children had often visited her relatives for long holidays but her husband had never accompanied them preferring to stay in Australia and pursue his own interests. Jan had a lifelong interest in dreams often using dream dictionaries to help her to figure out the meanings of her dreams. She had never been part of a dreamwork group before.

“In Jan’s dream she went to Melbourne (interstate) for a few days to meet up with old school friends and attend a conference. In the dream she and her husband owned a hotel in Hobart which she had just finished decorating and furnishing with loving care. She had a wonderful time with her old friends but when she returned to the hotel she discovered her husband in the process of refurbishing the hotel in a style she didn’t like. Jan started to get angry telling him to stop immediately, he said he would but told her she needed to go to lie down in a dark room until she calmed down. The next thing she woke up (in the dream) to discover she was lying on a bed in a pitch

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black room. Not knowing where the door was she lay quietly hoping to hear sounds which might give her a clue. She could hear faint voices which she recognised as her husband still giving instructions to the workmen to continue the refurbishment even though he had told her it would stop. Jan roared with anger and frustration because she could not find the way out of the room to stop him.”

As she told her dream Jan was very emotional, however all her years of using dream dictionaries made her wonder about the importance of the hotel in the dream because she and her husband lived in a unit and had never been associated with hotels; she did stay in a lot of hotels on business but mostly alone. She acknowledged it was like her husband to ignore her wishes, even if she knew what he was doing. Normally she was in the dark about his plans at which point she connected the dark room in her dreams with being in the dark as far as he was concerned. Thinking about the hotel she came up with the idea that if a house was a symbol of her own body (as in her dream dictionary) then perhaps the hotel was representative of the family (all their bodies)?

Jan then shared that several times in their lives her husband had made big decisions which effected the whole family without consulting her (i.e., applying for new jobs or deciding to move house on one occasion). Over the years she had tried to calmly use her negotiating skills to get him to understand that she should be consulted if he was applying for a job inter-state or buying a boat or new car. She had tried for years but he just did not listen and now she was reaching the stage where she was afraid she would get so angry with his actions she would leave the marriage. She connected this to the roar of anger and frustration she experienced at the end of the dream. Some six months after her dreamwork group had finished Jan contacted the facilitator to advise that she had just returned from another trip to Europe during which she had realised that just as in her dream, her husband usually waited until she was away from home to make big

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decisions which affected all the families lives. This time he had purchased a large mobile home and advised her on her return that they would be able to use it for all the family holidays in future.

Bryce (28) was a public servant in Hobart who had completed eighteen months of a two years contract learning a new job, which he hoped would lead to a similar position back in N.S.W. where his wife of two years was living in their ideal home. She had an excellent job and did not want to move to Hobart to be with him. He flew home on alternate weekends and was hoping that a job in his work speciality would come up in about six months when one of the workers in N.S.W. was due to retire. He had often shared dreams with his wife who was interested in dreams but joined the dreamwork group mainly for something to do in the evenings away from home. Bryce related a dream he had experienced several times over the last year approximately, which was causing him concern and some distress:-

“In his dream Bryce was working alone underneath his house, it was uncomfortable, cobweb strewn and very unpleasant. He was doing a maintenance job that needed doing but which he really did not want to do. He struggled to finish the job and then crawled out from under the house. As he came out into the daylight he brushed the dirt and cobwebs off himself noticing that there was a horrible growth on his right forearm. Each time Bryce has the dream the growth gets bigger and he wakes up with a start worrying if he is developing skin cancer.”

Bryce found it difficult to make sense of his dream. After the facilitator had repeated it back to him he decided that he would like to receive contributions from the group. One participant offered “If this were my dream I would be thinking about what I was doing in my life that I didn’t really want to do….” Bryce was easily able to identify that he was living away from his wife, family and friends most of the time.

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Another group member offered “If this was my dream I would be making a connection between being under the house where the foundations are and making a connection to the foundations of my family.” Bryce advised that he did not have any children but maybe the dream was about his working away affecting the foundations of his marriage. He was worrying about what would happen if he did not get a job in N.S.W. in six months’ time and he had to stay in Hobart for work. The facilitator then offered that bearing in mind the unconscious was not a linguistic organ and therefore sometimes uses puns as symbols in dreams “If this were my dream I would be wondering about the different meanings of growth and wondering if it was another form of growth, maybe personal or professional growth?” Bryce pondered on this and then sat up straight with a big grin recognising that his two years in Hobart was about professional development and that his knowledge about the job was growing with every week that passed. Bryce decided it was not a negative dream but a positive one. It was interesting to notice the change in Bryce’s body language after reframing his bad dream. He had tended to walk with his head bowed and his shoulders slumped forward.

Almost as soon as he acknowledged his dream was a positive one he sat up straight in his chair, put his shoulders back, and when he stood up walked at his full height looking forwards. He commented “my wife is going to love this; we’ve both been worrying about my health for months”.

Participant experiences were varied and interesting. Some found the dreamwork process disappointing. For example, Charlie was frustrated when he brought puzzling dreams but was unable to make sense of them for himself or from the ideas offered by other participants. The facilitator’s role in this case was in reminding that not all dreams are easily understood; some take a little while longer.

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Josie kept telling others what their dreams were about and had to be constantly reminded of the need to offer ideas in the “if this were my dream…” format.

Charlotte had experienced a horrible divorce as a result of which she had stopped socialising and actually been afraid of leaving the house for 2 years. After participating in the first study at home, she then felt able to risk coming to the group once to try it out. The ground rules made her feel safe and accepted, she returned for the other sessions slowly finding confidence to come out into the world again. Janice, a business woman with an alcoholic partner and responsibility for ageing parents and substance abusing children, through her dreams was able to share how chaotic and out of control her life felt.

Occasionally, more introverted participants were resistant to all suggestions about their dreams or sharing much about their lives and apparently not gaining much from the group process. However, later written feedback confirmed they had in fact been able to make connections between dreams and their waking life and thus, make sense of their dreams. Some more open members of the group resented this lack of sharing and it was necessary for the facilitator to remind them of the ground rule about participants sharing as much or as little as they wanted.

Most participants became confident to share not just their ‘crazy’ dreams but also elements of their personal stories within the groups and to discover that they were still being respected and accepted. Some participants confessed that these were elements of their lives which they had not shared with anyone or allowed themselves to feel for a long time.

A wide range of people were attracted to the dreamwork sessions: public servants, teachers, social workers, a service engineer, recently retired, house-bound divorcee, a disabled lady, university students from Arts, Business and Science courses,

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a University of the Third Age tutor, and a counsellor. Sharing aspects of their lives through “If this were my dream…” participants learned about the lives of the other group members. People got to know one another and became interested in each other’s lives. This built contacts and some friendships which continued after the groups ended.

These were particularly important and beneficial for the formerly housebound divorcee and the disabled lady who arrived each week with her Carer.

These and outcomes from the other two studies are further considered in the next chapter when the findings regarding the connection between improved well-being and understanding of one’s own dreams are summarised.

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Chapter 7

General Summary and Conclusion

The objective of the research contained in the thesis presented was to investigate the phenomenon of dreaming in relation to well-being and to explore whether it is possible to enhance a person’s well-being through using their dreams. This was achieved by exploring the effects of waking life on the dreams that people recall, whether personality characteristics had any bearing on the types of dreams experienced, if dream experiences have an effect on waking life and exploring the possibility that understanding of one’s dreams might have a beneficial effect on well-being.

The first step in this research was to investigate if there was a connection between waking life and dreams by exploring the emotions experienced during waking and those experienced during dreams. Unlike most previous studies we measured negative and positive emotions as well as carried out a survey of the personality characteristics of participants, as the subject of our first study. Data was collected over three weeks and the results were in line with predictions made. Significant associations between neuroticism and dream apprehension and sadness supported the findings of

Blagrove, Farmer and Williams (2004) with regard to low well-being and prospective unpleasant dream frequency. Significant relationships between waking emotions and the same or related dream emotions were clearly established. Results supported the hypothesis that dream emotions are strongly correlated to waking emotional experiences for both negative and positive emotions. Whilst personality characteristics alone have limited use in predicting the emotions experienced in dreaming, the addition of waking emotions to personality characteristics increased the predictability of dream emotions.

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The second study investigated whether the emotions experienced in dreams, which had been clearly shown to be associated with the emotions experienced the day before the dream, were carried forward into the next day and effect the emotions experienced during waking. For this study data was collected over an eight week period. The intra-individual correlations between waking and dreaming emotions were small and inconsistent suggesting that whilst waking emotions may be carried forward into that night’s dreams as shown in study 1, that a similar effect of specific dream emotions being carried into the following day’s waking activities was not evidenced.

This is in line with the continuity hypothesis of Domhoff (1996), who believes that dream images and emotions may be an indication of the overall type of concern rather than being a reflection of the predominant emotion of the previous day.

The third study looked at the effect of dreamwork on the participant’s well- being. The advantage of participation in a dreamwork group was that it provided an opportunity to explore dreams with a qualified and skilled dreamwork facilitator and, as the group progressed, to also receive feedback and perceptions from peers, thus widening the pool of knowledge from which the individual could develop awareness.

Although there was a tendency for some group members to deflect the focus away from the dreamer onto their own issues, this did not present too great a difficulty for the facilitator to refocus a group. As participants grew to understand the process and boundaries better, concentration on the dreamer in the spotlight became easier. For the one-to-one dreamers working with the facilitator, it was possible to focus on the individual’s motivations and experiences, identifying the life learning and increasing self-awareness. However, in individual work the self-awareness was limited to the perceptions which the facilitator and the dreamer were able to draw out from their sharing.

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Qualitative analysis of participant feedback about their response to participation in facilitated dreamwork showed encouraging therapeutic improvements in five areas: normalising of own dreams, increased interest in dreams, acceptance of own emotions, increased self-awareness and better daytime functioning. Improved well-being came through making connections between waking life and dreams which acted to take the

‘sting’ and fear out of bad dreams. Of the case studies reported in Chapter 6, those of

Meg, Ruth and Bryce illustrate this movement as they were able to take negative dreams or nightmares which had been troubling them for some time and through dreamwork reframe the dreams by taking a positive interpretation of the dream events and or symbolism, thus alleviating the anxiety caused by the original negative dream or nightmare.

Dreamwork sessions also reportedly increased self-understanding, self- acceptance, understanding and valuing of participant’s own emotions and reduced tendencies for being inappropriately self-critical. All of these elements improved personal functioning and improved inter-personal relationships. The quantitative pre and post dreamwork measures showed an improvement in the dreamwork participants desire to think more deeply and revealed an increased interest in considering complexity.

Participants also reported being able to face and close old issues and developing an improved ability to deal with current issues. The majority of the participants reported that through the dreamwork experience they were operating better in personal, family and social settings in their waking lives.

Thus, the results showed that well-being can be improved by exploring and understanding one’s dreams through dreamwork. Results also concurred with the partial findings of a number of previous dreamwork studies. For example, Heaton et al.,

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(1998) found that facilitated dreamwork produced better outcomes than dream interpretation done alone or without skilled help. Hill, (1996, 2004) who devised a three stage dreamwork model of exploration, insight and action which was the approach used in Study 3 helped the facilitator to structure the dreamwork sessions. Hill, Zack,

Wonnell, Hoffman, Rochlen, Goldberg, et al., (2000) whose participants reported greater understanding of their dreams and Ullman & Zimmerman, (1979) and Ullman,

(1987, 1994) whose work with dreams over decades provided excellent guidelines for dreamwork facilitation such as the insight that only the dreamer knows the true meaning of their dream but that contributions from the group can help the dreamer to make connections they might not make otherwise, and the essential role of the facilitator in providing safety for the group to explore and orchestrating the process to help the dreamer find closure on their dream.

Through the use of dream interpretation techniques the participants in Study 3 gained additional insight and an opportunity for deeper self-knowledge. Working with others in a secure and safe setting built trusting relationships. Amongst many outcomes, dreamwork helped the dreamers develop or strengthen an internal locus of evaluation, so that in identifying how their dreams relate to their lives participants were able to make choices about self-acceptance and plan for changes to improve their lives.

Through accepting responsibility for themselves and their lives they moved towards greater valuing of self. Participation in dreamwork is not always easy for the dreamer but it can be a life enhancing experience.

Limitations of the Research

The facilitator used for the individual and group dreamwork may have provided outcomes which would be difficult for a less experienced therapist / dreamworker to replicate. The facilitator is a psycho-therapist, therapeutic group facilitator, educator

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and qualified dreamworker with many years’ experience. Therefore she met all the criteria for a dreamworker described in Chapter 4 and was fully competent and confident in exploring dreams both one to one and in a group setting.

Another possibility considered was that the thesis might have included a content analysis of dreams from the dream sessions. It may be noted that in Study 1 the thesis addressed the relationship of a variety of positive psychology measures of well-being to the most promising area of dream content, namely dream emotion. Despite the substantial sample size only a limited number of significant relationships were detected.

It is therefore highly unlikely that a content analysis of the data from the third study involving a much smaller sample size and exploring categories of dream imagery which have no obvious relationship to any positive psychology measures, would be productive.

Furthermore the theoretical basis of the third study articulated by theorists who have been closely involved in the practice of working with dreams such as Ullman

(1987) and Hill (1996) is based on the principle that there is a relationship between dream content and waking experience which derives from the individual associations of the dreamer (See also Davidson & Lynch, 2012, Faraday, 1972, Hartmann, 1998).

There is no dictionary of dream symbols that would enable a dream investigator to specify particular dream images congruent with higher or lower degrees of mental well- being. Rather, it is essential to work with the associations of the dreamer to arrive at relationships between dream imagery and waking circumstances that may lead to helpful insights that can improve well-being. There is no plausible justification for ignoring the existing theoretical basis for working with dreams to canvass the unlimited number of possible relationships between dream imagery and waking well-being.

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Future Directions

An advantage and drawback of the research carried out for this thesis was the volume of data collected through the ELDD. The quantitative data for the first study generated 3936 pieces of information every 24 hours (32 ratings for duration and intensity of 8 categories of waking and dream emotions for each of 123 participants), over the 21 days of the study. This gave the potential for 82,656 pieces of information.

A similar calculation for the second study gave a potential for 57,344 pieces of data over 8 weeks for a smaller number of participants. Spread sheets to hold this amount of data tested the limits of Excel, were unwieldy to manage and required full-time data input over several months. Preliminary quantitative analyses were carried out in Excel as the only program able to deal with the volume of data. The Excel results were then transferred to SPSS for more sophisticated analyses.

As well as the quantitative data, qualitative details recorded in the ELDD were waking events and key thoughts, and dream content. Due to the enormity of handling the quantitative data and the undertakings given to the Ethics Committee to allow the studies to go ahead, the qualitative data collected was not utilised during the first or second studies as presented for this thesis.

In the third study the ELDD quantitative data was occasionally used to supplement written reports. However, in general only the qualitative data was utilised in the dreamwork sessions as an aide memoire for the participant presenting their dream. This was usually only one or at most two dreams. The additional quantitative data (i.e. the well-being measures used in Study 3) provided some results to support the qualitative findings and were much easier to deal with because of the smaller number of participants involved. Although the amount of data collected was too much to include

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in this thesis, the ELDD is an excellent tool which can be utilised for further studies.

For example,

a) A comparison of the quantitative data as used in the first study could be

implemented to explore if and when waking events and thoughts impact upon

dream imagery and content;

b) A more detailed investigation of the waking events and dream content provided

by participants using both quantitative and qualitative data to establish whether

dream content has an effect on the key thoughts or emotions experienced by the

participants during the days following a dream. Study 2 looked at this at two

time points only (the night of the dream and the day after) and concentrated

purely on quantitative data (i.e., the emotions experienced).

c) The qualitative data collected during the 3rd study could be analysed to

categorise content and identify patterns in dreams experienced by different

participants (as was done by Domhoff, 1996) and to establish if there is a

similar pattern to their waking preoccupations. Although, this would provide an

updated picture of the categories in dreams, Domhoff’s research has been so

extensive there would need to be excellent additional reasons for this to be a

viable proposition. Other researchers may wish to explore the beneficial

outcomes of other types of personal development groups to ascertain whether

the benefits to the participants reported in this thesis can be obtained in other

supportive, accepting settings.

d) Use of the ELDD with other dreamwork groups could confirm our findings and

provide validation of the document for further dreamwork research. This project

is already being pursued by a group of students from the Center for Advanced

Research and Technology, Clovis, California, USA (January, 2013).

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e)The ELDD would offer a vehicle for establishing whether positive effects and

affects from dreams are carried forward into the following days waking

activities.

Conclusion

Through the studies reported in this thesis a correlation between waking emotion, events, thoughts and preoccupations and the content of dreams has been shown for both positive and negative dreams. The findings of strong correlations between the corresponding waking and dreaming emotion are particularly important as previous research has not documented these relationships. It has also been shown that exploration of one’s dreams with the assistance of a qualified dreamworker can lead to therapeutic benefits for the majority of dreamers. This can be in the form of guidance from within to solve problems or a reminder to the dreamer of an issue that requires attention. Also, through exploration of bad dreams or nightmares and making connections to the waking issues by which they are prompted, dreamers can be relieved of the dream’s negative effects. Thus through use of dreamwork, leading to learning or healing from within, it has been shown that there are clear benefits and improvements in well-being.

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DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A1

APPENDICES A

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A2

Dream Emotions, Waking Emotions, Personality Characteristics and Well-Being

 Do you dream?

 Do you remember your dreams?

 Do you want to understand your dreams better?

We are seeking volunteers who are interested in participating in a study investigating the connection between different personality characteristics and the type of dreams people experience; and also exploring how regular weekly sessions with a dreamworker may help the dreamer to interpret their dreams and use their dream learning to improve their waking well-being. If you would like to participate or would like more information please contact:- Sue Gilchrist School of Psychology, University of Tasmania [email protected] 6226 7444

[email protected] 6226 7444 Sue [email protected] 6226 7444 Sue [email protected] 6226 7444 Sue [email protected] 6226 7444 Sue [email protected] 6226 7444 Sue [email protected] 6226 7444 Sue [email protected] 6226 7444 Sue [email protected] 6226 7444 Sue [email protected] 6226 7444 Sue [email protected] 6226 7444 Sue [email protected] 6226 7444 Sue

du.au

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A3

PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE USE

The Stuff of Dreams

Have you ever wonder what your dreams are about? Are dreams messages from within or just the brain making sense of the remnants of daily activities? Do dreams have a connection to personality characteristics or emotional type? Post-Graduate Researcher, Sue Gilchrist at the School of Psychology, University of Tasmania is trying to shed some light on these questions and is looking for dreamers to help.

“People in dreamwork groups are often amazed at the insights gained from interpreting their dreams, we are hoping to find scientific evidence of the benefits” says Sue. Currently there more than sixty University students and about twenty people from outside the University spread from the Tasman Peninsula up to Burnie busy recording their dreams, but to make the study truly representative of the general population Sue needs to recruit more non-students. “I am interested in hearing from anyone who remembers their dreams, but men and middle aged or older people will be particularly welcome” she says.

Working with Dr John Davidson, Sue is conducting two studies, which have approval from The Human Research Ethics Committee (Tasmania) Network. In the first participants are asked to complete personality questionnaires, then record their waking and dream emotions for 21 days to see if there is any connection. In study two, as well as recording their dreams, participants will be asked to take part in weekly dreamwork sessions aimed at helping them to interpret their dreams by confidentially sharing them with Sue and other dreamers. After an induction in study one the recording of emotions and dreams is carried out at home by participants. Study two’s weekly dreamwork sessions will be held at University of Tasmania sites in both Hobart and Launceston starting in July. Dreamers who want to become involved in the research can contact Sue by telephoning 6226 7664 or e- mailing [email protected]

For further information please contact Sue Gilchrist on 6226 7664 / 0400 639143

Ref sag/dreams/ PR/ 20/06/05

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A4

Letter on University of Tasmania letter headed paper.

Ref:psych/sag/Stud1/01 Participant Id. No. ……......

[date]

Dear [First Name],

Dream Emotions, Waking Emotions, Personality Characteristics and Well- Being

Thank you for expressing an interest in being involved in the above project which is being undertaken to fulfil the requirements for my post-graduate research degree (M.Sc.) in Psychology. Dr. John Davidson is the Chief Investigator. You are invited to participate in the project which has two phases:-

Study 1 - which is a survey using questionnaires, dream diaries and emotion logs to explore the connection between waking emotions and waking preoccupations with the images and emotions experienced in dreams; then if you wish to continue:-

Study 2 – which looks at how regular weekly sessions of dreamwork facilitated by the Researcher, either in a group or one-to-one setting, may help the dreamer to interpret their dreams and use their dream learning to improve waking well-being.

Information sheets on the two studies are enclosed. Please note participants can withdraw from the project at any time without prejudice.

We place the greatest importance on safeguarding the welfare of participants in the studies; therefore, to avoid the possibility of embarrassing or confidential issues being sparked whilst taking part in dreamwork activities, anyone who has undergone psychological or psychiatric counselling during the last two years should not take part in this study.

Initial data is being collected through completion of the enclosed Dreams / Emotions / Personality Characteristics Study - Initial Questionnaire. The information you supply will be used to confirm the frequency and types of dreams you have and your attitude towards and experience of sharing dreams. All the information supplied on this and future questionnaires will be subject to total confidentiality, i.e. none of the responses will be identifiable as coming from any particular participant and your identity will be safeguarded by the use of an identity number rather than your name.

Before we can process your completed Initial Questionnaire we need you to sign the enclosed Initial Consent Form. This only gives us permission to use the information on the initial questionnaire. Later, when you have attended the induction session,

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A5 received further information about the study, examined the dream diary and emotions log sheets, had the opportunity to ask questions and feel happy about being a participant in the project, you will be asked to complete a further consent forms which cover the other activities in which you will be involved if you decide to participate in study 1 and study 2.

An invitation to an Induction Session is enclosed, please indicate by marking 1, 2, 3, in the boxes your preferences for the session you want to attend.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me on 03 6226 7664 and I shall be pleased to help you.

Enclosed you will find a reply paid envelope, please return your completed questionnaire, the signed Consent Form and the Induction Session reply slip to me as soon as possible. I can then telephone you to confirm that a place is available at the Induction Session of your choice.

I thank you for your time and look forward to working with you on this project.

Yours sincerely,

Susan A. Gilchrist Post-Graduate Researcher

Encl.:- Induction Seminar Reservation form Initial Consent form Information sheets Study 1 & Study 2

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A6

Induction Seminar Reservation

Dream Emotions, Waking Emotions, Personality Characteristics and Well-Being

I am interested in participating in the above study and wish to attend an Induction Seminar on: choice Tuesday, 12 April at 7.00 p.m. [ ] (Please indicate by marking 1, 2, 3, in the boxes your first Thursday, 14 April at 7,00 p.m. [ ] second and third choices)

Monday, 18 April at 10.00 a.m. [ ]

Wednesday, 20 April at 7.00 p.m. [ ]

Initial Consent Form

Dream Emotions, Waking Emotions, Personality Characteristics and Well-Being

1. I have read and understood the invitation letter for this study. I understand that this consent form covers only the initial part of the study and that by consenting on this occasion I am not committing myself to participate in further stages of the study. 2. The nature and possible effects of the study have been explained to me. 3. I understand that this part of the study involves the following procedures: i) completion of the enclosed Dreams / Emotions / Personality Characteristics Study - Initial Questionnaire; ii) attendance at an Induction Seminar as indicated above 4. I understand that the Initial Questionnaire will be securely stored on the University of Tasmania premises for a period of 5 years, after which time it will be destroyed. 5. I understand that my identity will be kept confidential and that any information I supply to the researcher(s) will be used only for the purposes of collecting data and that no responses will be identifiable to any participants in any research output.

6. I agree to participate in the initial data collection and understand that I may withdraw at any time without any effect, and if I so wish, may request that any data I have supplied be withdrawn from the research.

Name of participant

Signature of participant Date

7. I confirm the volunteer has received an invitation to participate letter containing information about the project and specifically about the Initial Questionnaire. I believe the volunteer understand that this consent only covers the initial questionnaire and that after a full briefing they will be asked to sign a full informed consent before any other data is gathered.

Name of investigator

Signature of investigator Date

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A7

Dreams / Emotions / Personality Characteristics Study - Initial Questionnaire

Please respond to each of the following statements as honestly as you can by placing a tick in the box which most applies to you. There are no right or wrong answers.

Statement Disagree Disagree Neither Agree Agree a lot a little agree or a little a lot disagree I have dreams that I remember several times each week I have dreams that I remember several times each month In general I have good dreams In general I have bad dreams Sometimes my dreams are upsetting I sometimes have nightmares I sometimes have dreams which are inspirational Sometimes my dreams affect me negatively during waking life Sometimes my dreams affect me positively during waking life My dreams contain vivid images I experience strong emotions in my dreams My dreams are usually in colour I keep a full record of all my dreams. I sometimes record my dreams I often think about my dreams I often wonder what my dreams mean sg/dreamerqstnrinitial. © Susan A Gilchrist 2005

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A8

Disagree Disagree Neither Agree Agree Statement a lot a little agree or a little a lot disagree I often have dreams that puzzle me

I often think I understand what my dreams mean

I often talk about my dreams

I share my dreams with family members

I share my dreams with my friends

I share my dreams with other dreamers

I share my dreams with a dream-worker

I am happy to share my dreams in a dream group

I am happy to share my dreams one to one with a dream-worker

I am reluctant to share my dreams in a dream group

I am reluctant to share my dreams one to one with a dream-worker

I do not want to share my dreams with anyone

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A9

sg/dreamerqstnrinitial. © Susan A Gilchrist 2005

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A10

Dream Emotions, Waking Emotions, Personality Characteristics and Well- Being

Information Sheet - Study 1

The project is being undertaken to fulfil the requirements for the Researcher (Susan Gilchrist’s) post-graduate research degree (M.Sc.) in Psychology. Dr. John Davidson is the Chief Investigator.

What is it about?

Study 1 is the first phase of a two stage project looking at the connection between waking emotions and waking preoccupations with the images and emotions experienced in dreams and exploring if there is any correlation to personality and well-being. It is a survey using questionnaires, dream diaries and emotion logs which participants complete at the University and at home. It is anticipated that Study 1 will run until June 2005 approximately;

Who should participate?

We need to recruit people who remember their dreams, would like to understand their dreams better and will be prepared to record their dreams. Participants will also be prepared to fill in questionnaires about their emotions, thoughts and approach to life.

We place the greatest importance on safeguarding the welfare of participants in the studies; therefore, to avoid the possibility of raising embarrassing or confidential issues by taking part in dreamwork activities, if you have undergone psychological or psychiatric counselling during the last two years you should not take part in this study.

Psychology students can claim 2 hours credit for taking part in this study.

What is your involvement?

Participation in this project is voluntary; by signing the consent form you indicate your willingness to take part.

You will be asked to attend the University for half a day or an evening for an induction seminar during which you will meet the researcher, receive information about the study, examine and learn about filling in the dream diary and emotions log sheets, and have the opportunity to ask questions.

After that if you still feel happy about being a participant in the project, you will be asked to complete a consent form which covers all the activities in Study 1 and to complete a series of psychometric questionnaires which measure your attitude to life, emotional type and well being. The questionnaires will take about one hour to complete.

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A11

When you leave the University you will take away with you a reply paid envelope and a supply of dream records / emotion log sheets, for you to complete at home twice a day over the next three weeks. You will be asked to complete the emotions log sheet each evening and the dream record / emotions sheet each morning. It is anticipated this may take 5 to 10 minutes in the evening and up to 15 minutes each morning depending how detailed your dreams are.

At the end of three weeks you post the completed dream records / emotion log sheets back to the researcher at the University, along with a reply-slip indicating whether you wish to continue onto the second phase of the project – Study 2.

What happens after that?

The data from the questionnaires and the dream records / emotions log sheets will be analysed by the researcher and a report produced. This should show whether there is a connection between different personality characteristics and the type of dreams people experience. This may take a few months. After it is published, all participants will be able to access the report if they wish.

Whilst data analysis is taking place participants will be being recruited for study 2.

Participants can withdraw from the project at any time without prejudice.

Confidentiality

All the information supplied to the researcher on the questionnaires and on the dream/ emotion log sheets will be subject to total confidentiality, you will only be identified by your unique identification number (Id. No.) provided at the top of the letter inviting you to the induction session. All completed questionnaires and log sheets will be kept in a locked filing cabinet only accessed by the researcher and Chief Investigator and will be destroyed by shredding after five years.

If you have further questions at any time you can contact the Chief Investigator, Dr John Davidson on 6226 2238 or the Researcher Susan Gilchrist on 6226 7664.

This project has received approval (H8200) from the Human Research Ethics Committee (Tasmania) Network. If you have any complaints or concerns about the way the project is conducted you may contact the Executive Officer Human Research Ethics Committee (Tasmania) Network: Amanda McAully (6226 2763)

Results of the study will be available to participants via the University of Tasmania, School of Psychology website - www.scieng.utas.edu.au/psychol/research.asp or by e-mail from [email protected] or by telephoning 6226 7664

Please bring this information sheet with you to the Induction Session, a copy of your signed consent form will also be provided for your records.

John Davidson Susan Gilchrist Chief Investigator Post Graduate Research Student

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A12

Dream Emotions, Waking Emotions, Personality Characteristics and Well- Being

Information Sheet - Study 2

What is the study about?

If you wish to continue after study 1, you will be invited to participate in study 2, which looks at how regular weekly sessions of dreamwork with the researcher, either in a group or one-to-one setting, may help the dreamer to interpret their dreams, view negative dreams differently and use their dream learning to improve waking well-being.

The study may be of particular benefit to participants. Many people like recording and working with their dreams to relate them to waking events and experiences. Study 2 gives you an opportunity to record your dreams over an extended period and to relate the content of series of dreams to waking life experience. It is hoped that by participation in dream-work you will learn to explore bad dreams so that insights can be gained and the dreams become less threatening / disturbing leading to improvements in well-being. If you experience mostly positive dreams we hope that you will be able to extract the insight and self-knowledge from your dreams and improve your well-being.

Dreamworking involves the sharing of dreams with a trained dreamworker (in this case Susan Gilchrist, the researcher,) who will help the dreamer to explore elements of their dream in greater depth and to make connections to waking life. However, she will not tell you what your dream means but help you to work it out for yourself. Dreamwork can take place one-to-one or in a group setting in which case group members also become involved in the process. At the start of the first dreamwork session you will be fully briefed on the procedure and your role in the process.

The International Association for the Study of Dreams has a code of ethics for dream workers. One principle is to respect the ownership of the dream by the dreamer and not suggest that others are able to provide authoritative interpretations of its meaning. In a dreamwork group there is the additional feature of group members offering their associations and insights into the dream while recognising they are treating it as if it were their own; staying involved in the process and taking learning for it themselves.

Who should participate?

We need to recruit people who remember their dreams, who would like to understand their dreams better, who will be prepared to record their dreams and to share their dreams in either a group or one-to-one setting. You should also be prepared to fill in questionnaires about your emotions, thoughts and approach to life.

Please note you can withdraw from the project at any time without prejudice.

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A13

We place the greatest importance on safeguarding the welfare of participants in the studies; therefore, to avoid the possibility of raising embarrassing or confidential issues by taking part in dreamwork activities, if you have undergone psychological or psychiatric counselling during the last two years you should not take part in this study.

Everyone will get the opportunity to participate in either a dreamwork group or in one-to-one sessions, but because of the number of participant in the study it may take several weeks before people on the waiting list are called. However, it is essential that people on the waiting list to remain involved in the study by filling in the questionnaires after the first round of groups have completed their dreamwork sessions.

What is your involvement?

All participants will continue to complete the dream / emotions log sheets each evening and morning throughout the second study.

Study 2 will run from approximately June to December 2005, during which, you will be asked to attend eight weekly dreamwork sessions at the University, you will be assigned to either:- a) a dreamwork group which will meet for 2 ½ hours weekly; b) one to one sessions with a dreamworker which will last for up to 2 hours weekly or c) the waiting list group.

There will be a choice of days and times for attending the groups, these will be notified to you during the first study and you will indicate your preference on a reply-slip. Where possible we will take account of your preference to be in a particular dreamwork group or one-to-one session. However, we cannot guarantee that you will be able to enter a dreamwork group immediately, you may be waitlisted and have to wait for the second round of dreamwork groups to start.

At the end of each weekly session your completed dream records / emotion log sheets for the previous week will be collected by the researcher and you will be asked to fill in a brief questionnaire on your response to the session.

You will continue completing the dream records / emotion log sheets twice a day as long as the groups are running. Allowing for public holidays the groups could take 10 to 12 weeks to complete.

What happens in a dreamwork session?

At the beginning of the dreamwork session each participant will be asked if they would like to share a brief outline of a dream they have had in the last week. If you do not want to share that session you do not need to contribute. The group will then decide which of the dreams offered they want to explore in depth that session. After a short break the dreamworker will help that particular dreamer to explore their

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A14 dream fully. There will be an opportunity for other group members to contribute to the process. The process for one-to-one sessions is very similar but without the group members contributions.

It may be that the dream(s) chosen for exploration in the first part of a session contain elements or images which you find very distressing: e.g. spiders, snakes, airplanes. During the break you can choose to leave rather than continuing to participate in that particular session.

What are the risks?

The nature of dreamwork is such that it can be an emotional experience, you need to be aware that it might cause some embarrassment or upset. However, the Dreamworker / researcher will provide support and ensure that you are debriefed, grounded and safe to travel home before leaving the sessions. Occasionally, when working with dreams you may find topics which you would prefer not to address in waking life become evident through your dreams. You can withdraw from the project at any time without prejudice.

What happens after the series of dreamwork sessions have finished?

After the first round of 8 dreamwork sessions are completed, you will be asked to fill in further psychometric questionnaires to ascertain any changes during the period of the study. All participants including people on the waiting list will be asked to fill in the questionnaires which measure your attitude to life, emotional type and well being. The questionnaires will take about one hour to complete.

The data from the questionnaires and the dream records / emotions log sheets will be analysed by the researcher and a report produced. This should show whether participation in dream-work has helped participants to explore bad dreams and gain insights so the dreams become less threatening / disturbing and if there have been improvements in well-being. Also it will show whether participants who experience mostly positive dreams have been able to extract the insight and self-knowledge from their dreams and further improving their well-being.

The data analysis will take a few months. After it is published, all participants will be able to access the report if they wish.

Confidentiality

At the start of the first dreamwork session each group will negotiate a confidentiality agreement. As a minimum this should include an agreement not to talk outside of the group about the dreams of other group members, not to identify other participants to anyone outside of the group and not to discuss any of the issues raised by other group members during the sessions with anyone outside of the group.

All the information supplied to the researcher on the questionnaires and on the dream/ emotion log sheets will be subject to total confidentiality, you will only be

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A15 identified by your unique identification number (Id. No.) provided at the top of the letter inviting you to the induction session. All completed questionnaires and log sheets will be kept in a locked filing cabinet only accessed by the researcher and Chief Investigator and will be destroyed by shredding after five years.

If you have further questions at any time you can contact the Chief Investigator, Dr John Davidson on 6226 2238 or the Researcher Susan Gilchrist on 6226 7664.

This project has received approval (H8200) from the Human Research Ethics Committee (Tasmania) Network. If you have any complaints or concerns about the way the project is conducted you may contact the Executive Officer Human Research Ethics Committee (Tasmania) Network: Amanda McAully (6226 2763)

Results of the study will be available to participants via the University of Tasmania, School of Psychology website - www.scieng.utas.edu.au/psychol/research.asp or by e-mail from [email protected] or by telephoning 6226 7664

Please bring this information sheet with you to the Induction Session, a copy of your signed consent form will also be provided for your records.

John Davidson Susan Gilchrist Chief Investigator Post Graduate Research Student

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A16

CONSENT FORM STUDY 1

Dream Emotions, Waking Emotions, Personality Characteristics and Well-Being

1. I have read and understood the 'Information Sheet' for this study. 2. The nature and possible effects of the study have been explained to me. 3. I understand that the study involves the following procedures:

a) Completion of questionnaires, b) Morning and evening completion of dream diaries and emotion logs for 3 weeks.

This involves attending the University for approximately half a day and completing dream records / emotion log sheets twice daily for three weeks.

4. I understand that the following risks are involved: None anticipated. 5. I understand that all research data will be securely stored on the University of Tasmania premises for a period of 5 years. The data will be destroyed at the end of 5 years. 6. Any questions that I have asked have been answered to my satisfaction. 7. I agree that research data gathered for the study may be published (provided that I cannot be identified as a participant).*

8. I understand that my identity will be kept confidential and that any information I supply to the researcher(s) will be used only for the purposes of the research and that no response will be identifiable to any participant in any research output.

9. I agree to participate in this investigation and understand that I may withdraw at any time without any effect, and if I so wish, may request that any data I have supplied be withdrawn from the research.

Name of participant

Signature of participant Date

10. I have explained this project and the implications of participation in it to this volunteer and I believe that the consent is informed and that he/she understands the implications of participation.

Name of investigator

Signature of investigator Date

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A17

CONSENT FORM STUDY 2

Dream Emotions, Waking Emotions, Personality Characteristics and Well-Being

1. I have read and understood the 'Information Sheet' for this study. 2. The nature and possible effects of the study have been explained to me. 3. I understand that the study involves the following procedures:

a) Attending eight weekly sessions of dreamworking at the University, either in a group or one-to-one setting,

b) Morning and evening completion of the dream records / emotion log sheets whilst the sessions are ongoing.

c) Completion of brief questionnaires at the end of each dreamwork session.

d) At the end of the eight dreamwork sessions completion of further questionnaires to ascertain any changes during the period of the study.

4. I understand that the following risks are involved: Occasionally when interpreting dreams participants may find topics which they would prefer not to address in waking life become evident through their dreams. 5. I understand that all research data will be securely stored on the University of Tasmania premises for a period of 5 years. The data will be destroyed at the end of 5 years. 6. Any questions that I have asked have been answered to my satisfaction. 7. I agree that research data gathered for the study may be published (provided that I cannot be identified as a participant).*

8. I understand that my identity will be kept confidential, that any information I supply to the researcher(s) will be used only for the purposes of the research and that no responses will be identifiable to any participant in any research output.

9. I agree to participate in this investigation and understand that I may withdraw at any time without any effect, and if I so wish, may request that any data I have supplied be withdrawn from the research.

Name of participant

Signature of participant Date

10. I have explained this project and the implications of participation in it to this volunteer and I believe that the consent is informed and that he/she understands the implications of participation.

Name of investigator

Signature of investigator Date

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A18

Dream Study Induction session and testing session. - Programme

Action AVA

Display OHT as people arrive with Study title and welcome OHT 01

Welcome – introduction – thanks for taking time to attend. Still looking for participants so if they know anyone who wants to be involved all ages, all backgrounds please tell them to get in touch with me.

Aim of this session is to provide information on my Dream Study, introduce you to the documents involved, give you the opportunity to ask questions and then if you decide you want to continue, for you to complete the first batch of questionnaires.

The study is in two parts: OHT 02

Study 1 - looks at connection between personality types, emotions and types of dreams.

Uses questionnaires to identify personality characteristics; then completion of Emotions Log and Dream Diary for 21 days.

So Study 1 involves filling out questionnaires today and then keeping an emotions log / dream diary for the next 3 weeks. At the end of 3 weeks you return the log/ diary to me to analysis and you also tell me whether or not you want to go on to study 2

Any Questions so far?

NB Now I am going to tell you about Study 2, but please remember you don’t have to decide if you want to undertake study 2 until the end of Study 1.

Study 2 – looks at the benefits of exploring and interpreting OHT 03 dreams on waking well-being.

Attending 8 weekly dreamwork sessions either in a group or one to one with a dreamworker; alongside the keeping of Emotions Log / Dream Diary for the duration of the study – 10 to 12 weeks.

As we are looking at emotions we have provided some information on Emotions to make completing the record sheets Handout Log easier. [Talk through Emotions Info Sheet] Attached to a copy sheets of the Emotions Log / Dream Diary sheets.

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A19

A key element of the study it asks that before you go to sleep you record the waking emotions you have experienced during the day. OHT 04

N.B. - I.D. Number and date very important.

[Talk through and complete as an example – nervous had to do a presentation. Lots of new people, wished I hadn’t agreed to do it. Pleased it went well]

So tonight I have a dream about being tied to a tree with chains, the wind starts blowing and the giant pine cones on the tree start dropping to the floor all around me. I’m frightened, trying to get out of the way of the falling cones but I can’t because I’m fastened to the tree, a large one is coming loose right above me and is about to fall. I huddle against the tree trying to make myself smaller and get out of its way, suddenly I become a part of the tree, the chains have gone from my wrists and I am embracing the tree. I am astonished it seems like magic. I feel loved, safe and happy. OHT 05 I look over my shoulder and see the pine cones have turned into lovely red eating apples.

Idea only enough to remind you of the dream when you come to look at it later - For study 1 it needs to be enough so that when I read your diaries I know what kind of a dream you have had and what emotions you have experienced - . For study 2 we will be using your dream records to decide which dreams to interpret so you need enough detail to spark your memory. OHT 06

Dreamwork Sharing dreams with a trained dreamworker, explore elements of their dream in greater depth and to make connections to waking life. Help you to work it out for yourself - one-to-one or in a group setting in which case group members also become involved in the process.

At the start of the first dreamwork session you will be fully briefed on the procedure and your role in the process. Also negotiate a confidentiality agreement so that you feel safe to share your dreams.

Work the International Association for the Study of Dreams Code of Ethics, respect the ownership of the dream by the dreamer

At the end of each session fill in an evaluation questionnaire

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A20

After about 10 weeks at end of series of dreamwork sessions asked to complete a further batch of personality characteristic questionnaires.

Any questions?

Ask if there is anyone who doesn’t want to continue with the study? Thank them for their time and let them go.

Check everyone who remains is happy to undertake study 1 and prepared to complete the Questionnaires today. Before you issue the questionnaires - tell them you are putting a pile of dream record sheets at the front of the room, they need to exchange their completed questionnaire pack for a Emotions Log / Dream Diary pack before they go. Show them the Study 2 consent form and sheet to indicate best times for dreamwork sessions for them.

Students should return the diary / logs to the Box in Sue Ross’s office in 3 weeks (Give an actual date). If necessary non-students can take a reply-paid envelope to return their diary/ log book.

People will take different times to complete the questionnaires so, when you’ve finished you are free to hand in your questionnaire, collect your diary and go. If you have any questions just raise your hand and I will come along to you to answer them.

Thank you for your time.

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A21

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A22

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A23

Dream Emotions, Waking Emotions, Personality Characteristics and Well-Being

EMOTIONS LOG / DREAM DIARY

If found please return to: Sue Gilchrist School of Psychology University of Tasmania [email protected] 6226 7444

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A24

Waking Emotions Log – Complete this page first

For (date) ….…...…….. I.D......

At the end of the day record below the dominant emotions you have experienced during the day. a) In the first box rate how intensely on a scale of 0 to 7 you felt that particular emotion, with 0 being not at all and 7 being very intensely indeed.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 |______|______|______|______|______|______|______| not at all a little bit slight mild moderate strong very strong intense b) In the second box rate the duration of that emotion on a scale of 0 to 7, with 0 being not at all and 7 being continuously throughout the day.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 |______|______|______|______|______|______|______| not at all fleetingly occasionally some of about ½ more than almost all all of the time of the time ½ the time of the time the time

For example, if you have felt mildly apprehensive about an up coming event which has been niggling at the back of your mind for most of the day you might rate it this way:- Box 1 Box 2 Apprehension / Fear [ 3 ] [ 6 ]

Now please rate the dominant emotions you have experienced during today below:-

Intensity Duration Box 1 Box 2 Anger [ ] [ ] Apprehension / Fear [ ] [ ] Sadness [ ] [ ] Confusion / Shock [ ] [ ] Joy / Happiness [ ] [ ] Love [ ] [ ] Contentment [ ] [ ] Interest [ ] [ ] Please list any key events or thoughts around for you today here:-

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A25

Dream Diary / Dream Emotions Log Page 2

When you wake up record your dream immediately, remember to provide as much detail as you can remember – setting, images, colour, people, emotions etc.

Please rate the dominant dream emotions for Intensity Duration Box 1 Box 2 Anger [ ] [ ] Apprehension / Fear [ ] [ ] Sadness [ ] [ ] Confusion / Surprise [ ] [ ] Joy / Happiness [ ] [ ] Love [ ] [ ] Contentment [ ] [ ] Interest / Excitement [ ] [ ]

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A26

Date ………………………

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A27

Dream Emotions, Waking Emotions, Personality Characteristics and Well-Being

Emotions Information Sheet

Please read the following information before indicating the emotions you experienced during your day and in your dreams.

For this study emotion refers to your feelings; many different words can be used to describe feelings. You will be asked to choose from several categories of emotions when filling in the Emotions Log Sheet in the evening and again in the morning when completing the Dream Diary. The categories are listed below with examples of some of the emotions within each category. Choose a category which best fits the feelings you experienced. For example, when thinking about your emotions during the day you may recall that one of the dominant feelings you had was of ‘guilt’, this emotion is included under the category of apprehension/fear. You would indicate the intensity and duration of your feeling of guilt against apprehension/fear on the Waking Emotions Log sheet.

Categories of Emotions

Anger: annoyed, irritated, mad, provoked, furious, enraged, belligerent, incensed, indignant, contempt, disgust, revulsion, envy, jealousy, frustration, exasperation, hate, loathing, spite, dislike

Apprehension/fear: anxiety, terrified, horrified, frightened, scared, worried, nervous, concerned, panicky, alarmed, uneasy, upset, remorseful, sorry, apologetic, regretful, ashamed, guilty, shyness

Sadness: disappointed, distressed, hurt, depressed, lonely, lost, miserable, hopeless, crushed, heartbroken, sympathy, discouraged

Confusion/shock: mystified, stunned, overwhelmed, puzzled, perplexed, strange, bewildered, doubtful, conflicted, undecided, uncertain

Joy/happiness: gay, elated, gratified, wonderful, exhilarated, amusement, glad, ecstatic,

Contentment: pleased, satisfied, relaxed, pleasure, peace, serenity

Love: adoration, affection, attraction, tenderness, compassion, longing, arousal, desire, lust, passion, infatuation, caring

Interest/excitement: astonished, amazed, awestruck, curious, attending, concentrating, surprise.

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A28

[SG/EmotionsInfoSheet] [INDUCTION / END OF STUDY PSYCHOMETRIC QUESTIONNAIRE PACK]

Please respond to each of the following statements as honestly as you can by placing a tick in the box which best describes you. Answer according to your own feelings, rather than how you think ‘most people’ would answer There are no right or wrong answers.

IPIP Disagree Disagree Neither agree Agree a Agree a Statement a lot a little nor disagree little lot I experience my emotions intensely I feel others’ emotions I am passionate about causes I enjoy examining myself and life I try to understand myself I seldom get emotional I am not easily affected by my emotions I rarely notice my emotional reactions I experience very few emotional highs and lows I don’t understand people who get emotional //////////////////// \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ LOT-R \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ /////////////// //////////////////// //////////// ////////////// In uncertain times I usually expect the best It is easy for me relax If something can go wrong for me it will I’m always optimistic about my future I enjoy my friends a lot

It is important for me to keep busy I hardly ever expect things to go my way I don’t get upset too easily

I rarely count on good things happening to me Overall, I expect more good things to happen to me than bad.

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A29

Pleas read each statement carefully. Then put a tick in the box that best describes you.

SWLS Definitely Mostly Mostly Definitely Statement False False True True In most ways my life is close to my ideal. The conditions of my life are excellent. I am satisfied with my life.

So far I have gotten the important things I want in my life. If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing.

ADHS Definitely Mostly Mostly Definitely Statement False False True True I can think of many ways to get out of a jam I energetically pursue my goals

I feel tired most of the time

There are lots of ways around any problem

I easily back down in an argument

I can think of many ways to get the things out of life that are important to me I worry about my health

Even when others get discouraged, I know I can find a way to solve a problem My past experiences have prepared me well for my future I have been pretty successful in life

I usually find myself worrying about something I meet the goals I set for myself

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A30

Please respond to each statement as quickly as possible by ticking the box to the right to show whether or not you agree.

BQ-Sh Yes No Statement 1. In my daydreams, people kind of merge into one another or one person turns into another. 2. I wake from one dream into another.

3. I have daymares.

4. In my dreams, people sometimes merge into each other or become other people. 5. I have dreams, daydreams, nightmares in which my body or someone else’s body is being stabbed, injured, or torn apart. 6. Things around me seem to change their size and shape. 7. Every time something frightening happens to me, I have nightmares or fantasies or flashbacks involving the frightening event. 8. I have often had the experience of different senses coming together. For example, I have felt that I could smell a colour, or see a sound, or hear an odour. 9. My dreams are so vivid that even later I can’t tell them from waking reality. 10. My body sometimes seems to change its size and shape.

11. I have had the experience of someone calling me or speaking my name and not being sure whether it was really happening or I was imagining it. 12. I have had the experience of not knowing whether I was imagining something or it was actually happening. 13. I think children need strict discipline.

14. In an organisation, everyone should have a definite place and a specific role. 15. A man is a man and a woman is a woman; it is very important to maintain that distinction. 16. I like stories that have a definite beginning, middle, and end.

17. I cannot imagine living with or marrying a person of another race.

18. I like clear, precise borders.

19. The movies and TV shows I like the best are the ones where there are good guys and bad guys and you always know who they are. 20. Good solid frames are very important for a picture or a painting.

21. Being dressed neatly and cleanly is very important.

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A31

Statement Yes No 22. I like houses where rooms have definite walls and each room has a definite function 23. East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet. (Kipling)

24. I am a very open person.

25. I trust people easily.

26. I am always at least a bit on my guard.

27. Sometimes, I meet someone and trust him or her so completely that I can share just about everything about myself at the first meeting. 28. I expect other people to keep a certain distance.

29. I am careful about what I say to people until I get to know them really well. 30. I get to appointments right on time.

31. I keep my desk and worktable neat and well organised.

32. I am good and keeping accounts and keeping track of my money.

33. I have a clear and distinct sense of time.

34. I know exactly what parts of town are safe and what parts are unsafe.

35. I have a clear memory of my past. I could tell you pretty well what happened year by year. 36. I am a down-to-earth, no-nonsense kind of person.

37. I think I would be a good psychotherapist.

38. There are no sharp dividing lines between normal people, people with problems, and people considered psychotic or crazy. 39. I think a good teacher must remain in part a child.

40. A good parent has to be a bit of a child too.

41. I think an artist must in part remain a child.

42. A good teacher needs to help a child remain special.

43. Children and adults have a lot in common. They should give themselves a chance to be together without any strict roles. 44. I am easily hurt.

45. I am a very sensitive person.

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A32

SHS – Goals

Instructions

Read the items below and circle 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 on the left hand side to indicate the extent that you would wish for the item mentioned. Then circle 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 on the right hand side to indicate the extent to which you expect the thing mentioned to occur.

To what extent To what extent would you In the foreseeable future do you expect wish for this? this?

0 = not at all 0 = not at all 5 = very much 5 = very much

0 1 2 3 4 5 1. To do well at University, in a job, or in 0 1 2 3 4 5 daily tasks 0 1 2 3 4 5 2. To have more friends 0 1 2 3 4 5

0 1 2 3 4 5 3. To have good health 0 1 2 3 4 5

0 1 2 3 4 5 4. To be competent 0 1 2 3 4 5

0 1 2 3 4 5 5. To achieve long range goals 0 1 2 3 4 5

0 1 2 3 4 5 6. To be happy 0 1 2 3 4 5

0 1 2 3 4 5 7. To have money 0 1 2 3 4 5

0 1 2 3 4 5 8. To have leisure time 0 1 2 3 4 5

0 1 2 3 4 5 9. Other people to be helpful. 0 1 2 3 4 5

0 1 2 3 4 5 10. The crime rate to go down. 0 1 2 3 4 5

0 1 2 3 4 5 11. The country to be more productive. 0 1 2 3 4 5

0 1 2 3 4 5 12. Understanding by my family. 0 1 2 3 4 5

0 1 2 3 4 5 13. Justice in the world. 0 1 2 3 4 5

0 1 2 3 4 5 14. Peace in the world. 0 1 2 3 4 5

0 1 2 3 4 5 15. Personal freedom 0 1 2 3 4 5

0 1 2 3 4 5 16. Resources for all 0 1 2 3 4 5

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A33

This scale consists of words that describe different feelings and emotions. Read each item and tick the appropriate box to indicate your response. Indicate to what extent you have felt that particular emotion / feeling during the last seven days.

PANAS Very A little Moderately Quite Extremely slightly or a bit Emotion / Feeling not at all 1. Interested

2. Irritable

3. Distressed

4. Alert

5. Excited

6. Ashamed

7. Upset

8. Inspired

9. Strong

10. Nervous

11. Guilty

12. Determined

13. Scared

14. Attentive

15. Hostile

16. Jittery

17. Enthusiastic

18. Active

19. Proud

20. Afraid

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A34

Read the statements below and indicate with a tick in a box to the right whether or not it applies to you.

NFCS (18) Yes No Statement 1. I prefer complex to simple problems.

2. I like to have the responsibility of handling a problem that requires a lot of thinking. 3. Thinking is not my idea of fun.

4. I would rather do something that requires little thought than something that is sure to challenge my thinking abilities. 5. I try to anticipate and avoid situations where there is a likely chance I will have to think in depth about something. 6. I find satisfaction in deliberating hard and for long hours.

7. I only think as hard as I have to.

8. I prefer to think about small, daily projects to long term ones.

9. I like tasks that require little thought one I have learned them.

10. The idea of relying on thought to make my way to the top appeals to me.

11. I really enjoy a task that involves coming up with new solutions to problems. 12. Learning new ways to think doesn’t excite me very much.

13. I prefer my life to be filled with puzzles which I must solve.

14. The notion of thinking abstractly is appealing to me.

15. I would prefer a task that is intellectual, difficult, and important to one that is somewhat important but does not require much thought. 16. I feel relief rather than satisfaction after completing a task that required a lot of mental effort. 17. It’s enough for me that something gets the job done; I don’t care how or why it works. 18. I usually end up deliberating about issues even when they do not affect me personally.

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A35

Some tips on how to inculcate dreams

At night:-

 put pen and paper next to your bed;  as you close your eyes tell yourself “tonight I want to dream and I want to remember my dream in the morning”;

 as you dream tell yourself “I want to remember this dream”

In the morning:-

 Before opening eyes go over the dream in your mind;  Don’t do anything else before writing down dream(s) no music, no speaking, not toilet!, just record dream before it goes;  Jot down key words only then flush out;  Reread and put in any extra details you remember.

sg/dreaminculcation/Handout

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A36

The Group Dreamwork Sessions

1. To help you to settle in to the group we will start with a round during which you can share a few words about anything that seems relevant about your life since our last session. 2. The facilitator will then ask if anyone has a dream they would like to share. If there is more than one dream offered I will ask you to say just a sentence or two about your dream. The group will then be asked which dream they would like to hear first.

[I will try to ensure that everyone has time to explore their dream but it may not be possible to look at more than two dreams during the session. I will make certain that everyone has the opportunity to share at least one dream during the series of dreamwork sessions.]

3. The dreamer will then share their dream with the group. I will then ask questions to make sure I have all the details and then repeat the dream back to the dreamer so they can add details to or correct the dream. 4. The dreamer will then be given the option to hear other group participant’s ideas about what the whole or part of the dream might mean to them. Because the dream always remains the property of the dreamer these ideas will be presented as “If this were my dream...” and related to the other participant’s own life. (Don’t forget puns and symbolism.) The dreamer does not have to accept the contributions of others as accurate but can just listen and choose later if the ideas fit for them or not. 5. When everyone has had chance to contribute the facilitator may offer ideas using the “If this were my dream...” statement.

Sometimes the dreamer may choose not to have contributions from the group or the facilitator that is the dreamer’s decision.

6. After the contributions have finished the dreamer will be asked whether the dream now makes more sense to them, if they can make any connections to their waking life and whether they are going to make any changes or take any action as a result? The dreamer does not have to share details unless they wish to, a brief indication will be enough should they not wish to share.

At this point if the dreamer is satisfied they have explored their dream enough, the group will move on to another participant’s dream and the process will be repeated (i.e. steps 2 -6). At the end of the session there will be a closing round for people to share anything in particular that they found interesting or that sparked thoughts for them.

NB The opening and closing rounds are ‘safe’ space in which comments are made without any response from other group participants.

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A37

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A38

Date …………………….. I.D. No. ……………….

Dream Emotions, Waking Emotions, Personality Characteristics and Well- being a) How do you feel that taking part in dreamwork sessions has affected you? (e.g. thoughts, feelings, actions etc.)

b) Is there anything new that you have noticed as a result of taking part in dreamwork sessions?

Please continue overleaf or on a separate sheet if required.

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A39

sg/hd/dreamresearch/qualiquest

Dreamwork Participant Qualitative Questionnaire Responses ID1059 (a) Taking part in the dream work sessions helped in understanding my emotions that I could not show while awake. I now understand my emotions better and am now better equipped to analyse my dreams. (b) While doing the dream diary my dreams were not as frequent or I did not remember them so much.

ID1065 (a) Yes – renewed strength of insight into my own “higher self” guiding me, through symbols and feelings of my dreams. Renewed determination to follow my own “leader” perceived, as a result of this insight, i.e. decisions, choices, understandings of my own feelings – overall, added connection with and regard for, myself. Actions follow accordingly – more sure of right actions and choices.

(b) Added height of awareness of dreams + greater ease of seeing their relevance to my daily experience, thoughts, feelings. Adding to richness of my inner relationship with myself.

ID1097 (a) For me the groups were interesting but not deeply effecting me till one day later on in the series of group meetings. I felt a sudden understanding and change from pessimism to realising it will work out. Very uplifting. Unfortunately I missed the last session as I appreciated each person taking part.

(b) See above.

ID1151 (a) As result of active participation in this project, dream recall was significantly heightened providing clarity of recording more detailed information. Actively, the experience of sharing my dreams with group provided new insights into dream interpretation, and I was grateful for participants’ contributions. “If it were my dream!” is a useful facilitating and empowering experience for both experienced dreamwork participants, and newcomers to this important segment/component of ‘Life’s journeys’. The process provided a re-focussing of ‘Dreamwork’ research, development, practical understanding and continued work in these areas. It is my intention in 2006 to facilitate an introductory Dreams (Spiritual Meditative) group to encourage people of all ages to work with their dreams.

(b) Despite past Dreamwork experience, recall, facilitation work I remain a student – forever.

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A40

ID1158 (a) I have noticed I am paying more attention to the emotions I feel in my dreams. Prior to taking part in this study, I regularly recorded my dreams but rarely documented how I felt. I concentrated on what I saw, colour, images, the action as it enfolded before me – not how it affected me.

ID1169 (a) Sometimes the dreams help me acknowledge things I thought I’d dealt with, and to examine it honestly again. I was already doing this to a degree, before I started the dreamwork. When I first began doing the dream study, I noticed I was remembering more dreams than usual, sometimes several in a night. After a while I noticed it was contributing to tiredness, and I was remembering less detail than usual, and sometimes struggling to remember anything at all. During the study, it was pointed out to me some dream could be to do with a particular period of my life, shown by the period of life the people of my dreams are from e,g. Primary or High School. It was also pointed out I don't need to be so hard on myself, because I'm keen to 'get' the lesson and move on. Things will happen at their own pace, right for me, and I needn't get upset if a dream shows me I'm still not quite dealing with something I learned to not necessarily interpret them so literally. Dreams can (and often are) be symbolic. Sue has taught me about puns.

(b) I get over bad dreams more quickly now, and try and see the symbolism and find what it's really about. I've noticed people from my past (who I haven't seen for a long time), have begun reappearing in my dreams. I've found other people have similar dreams to me, so I would no long feel apprehensive about doing group work.

ID1173 (a) More self awareness e.g. Need to incorporate more team activities. More awareness of the link between dream emotions and dream scenarios with coming events. Often the dream precedes the waking event. (e.g. 30/10/05) dreamed everything was ‘in place/OK’ at my elderly father's house. Later that day had a call from Community Dementia Care Team to say they were taking on my father as a client. (Would not have linked these events if I wasn't recording/remembering dreams). Dreams are lacking in emotion when traumatic events happen in waking life, and vice versa. Today's session helped me interpret common and recurring themes in my dreams. Themes: Travel/transport - boats planes e.g. destinations - (Journey of life, getting there) moving forward finding shells on beach and being overjoyed at finding “the perfect one” (seeking perfection) These themes fit with aspects of my waking life, and reflect my waking pursuits and personality (controlling, perfectionistic thinking)

(b) Grandmother’s house had been a recurring theme. I have not been able to work out why. SG mentioned the word synchronicity in dream session. I had been reading about this in the Intro to the ‘I Ching’ by C Jung. I re-read it and found an answer to my question, according to C Jung my grandmother represents subconscious/ unconscious mind. Husband wanted to apply for job in Townsville in paper on Sat. Sat and Sun we discussed pros

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A41

and cons of Townsville. The first thing Sue said on Mon was about the weather. I said I loved hot weather, she replied ‘You should move to Townsville’.

ID1181 (a) I found out I don’t deliberately fall down. I accept I like visitors. (b) No

ID1191 (a) I found partaking of dreamwork sessions very interesting, it was a learning experience to discover how very different dreams other dreamers had. I felt sad that others have dreams which are disturbing them, or add to their sadness, because my dreams are generally a bit crazy and often a bit of fun. I sometimes thought that if a person were uncertain of themselves or had inner confusions, self- analysing of their dreams could be quite dangerous to their stability.

(b) Not really. I think I will continue to go to sleep, looking forward to whatever crazy movie I will be partaking in next.

ID1198 (a) Attending dream classes has been beneficial in understanding (in a small scale) dreams and what they may indicate. The majority of my dreams have been difficult to interpret and understand. I have noticed I cannot recall most of my dreams whilst undertaking the dream classes. Inability to recall my dreams, which is very unusual for me.

ID1199 (a) I feel that taking part in the dreamwork has affected me greatly and has made me feel tremendously unsettled in some ways. I can see how I am dreaming all my anger and frustration emotions. I guess I have always suppressed these feelings as not to 'rock the boat', especially in my childhood years. Therefore, dreaming this way must be good for me as it vents the negative side, without harming anyone. I have always wanted to be able to air any grievances I may have had, but will never do so in case I hurt someone else's feelings in doing so. In one session, we had a lady who spoke about her ‘dying without doing anything worthwhile in life’. I felt so upset and sad for her for many days, and she keeps popping into my mind. I know that is not right, because with work I have done over the years, one has to learn to ‘close the door’ when you leave a situation. I have given this a lot of thought, and somehow realised that I felt a little the same way with my life, with ‘barriers’ put in my way many times, and not achieving what I really wanted to do, but on the other hand, my attitude to life is ‘things happen for a reason, so go with the flow’. All these comments sound so negative, whereas I am a very optimistic and positive person, and will always try to make the best of a situation. I guess that analysing one’s dreams breaks down the brick walls one builds around them in life. I feel very guilty doing this, as I am a lucky person, with a loving family. One only has to watch the news or sit in a hospital to make them realise how life could really be for them!! So...... I growl at myself, pick myself up and get on with life in a positive way.

(b) Yes, it seems I am very happy in my waking life, but all my dreams are on the negative side, with me getting angry, crying lots, frustrated, annoyed and sometimes dream very unexplained

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A42

dreams. ID1202 (a) I have noticed how much I am affected in my dreams by things that happened in waking life. Like seeing a car accident and dreaming about it. I have realised that there are other sides to my personality that I have been suppressing and that I should embrace them as they are part of who I am. My dreams help me see this. I feel that it was a turning point in a lot of ways for me. The dream workshop helped me in many ways emotionally and mentally. Also so many friends have heard me talk (generally) about the dream group and tell me there dreams. I am more focused on what the symbols mean to them rather than using a dream dictionary.

(b) Thanks for everything Sue. You have a lot of patience, intuition and brains to continue on your path with dreamwork. Thank you for letting me be a part of it.

ID1210 (a) No change

(b) After a couple of weeks I started to notice I had little or no recall, even thought I am sure I was still dreaming. I realise that my ex husband figures a lot in my dreams - almost always unpleasant dreams – and I wake each time detesting him.

ID1217 (a) My main reason for joining the dreamwork sessions was to merely take part in the study. I have enjoyed the sessions and have been interested to hear the dream recollections of the other participants and the subsequent analysis. It has helped me understand the effect of past experiences, especially childhood memories good and bad, and how they emerge later. (b) I have noticed that I have been more relaxed when confronting stressful situations and feeling less annoyed in irritating situations.

ID1233(1st)

(a) I realised after my first one-to-one session with Sue that it has been extremely rare to have a one-to-one where the focus is on me. I can only think of work interviews, directed of course to the work to be done, and of my interviews with Peter O’Connor's dream group. In the work and Peter’s interviews I had to ask if I’d been accepted - the interviews seem to take it for granted I knew! I found it a touch embarrassing at first but quickly put at ease by Sue and past experience of being interviewed also helped. I found main interest is the meaning of the images, checking their relevance-resonance. I know all good interactions have a therapeutic outcome but I do not regard these as therapy sessions – possibly arrogance on my part but I think more largely how with age and time I have largely accepted myself and made what changes I can in action and re-action – am not sure if basic core can be changed. I would feel free to talk to people if they wanted to know what I am about indeed would welcome it – see opening sentence! Renewed feeling that the words of the outcomes as I write convey very obvious meanings on occasions and I resist this obviousness. (b) I am spending more time on the images because I think they have been brought to mind by talking. One realisation is that in the many dreams I have where squares are involved only the frame stays. There were many people within the frames. When it is a static situation,*a stage, a boxing ring, assembly hall etc. then the squares are made of light material or light-itself they

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A43

float freely. I lie square frame around the ...... dissolved. In the “statue” frames people are free if they will to move in and out. The word association exercise was surprising – all seemed to be leading to some aspect of ...... serious needing. Most dreams occur after I get up at 5 about, then return to bed. On few occasions I wake to often in the night. ID1233(2nd) (a) A room of my own, then in a home of my own, many different houses – know them so well I never write them up, not even the obvious 'Jungian' one with the cellar reached then by climbing down ...... ! They have not returned for years – probably satisfied! Other themes that came and went, mountains, green meadows, great cats. Then many about summer schools, conferences, and a lot of responsibility often thwarted by too many people taking over – the conferences were in quiet ‘academic’ surroundings, which is when squares began – college squares, agora - then more intimate, rooms, boxing ring, stage and interactions if any with one person there were the journeys with lost handbags or passports or knowing what ‘home’ looked like but not the addresses or the rank, or if known very long and exhausting. In later dreams there was a company or people to give directions. Then I was ‘at home’ wherever I was. Squares became abstract, floating shapes, in translucent ....., or colours – recently circular shapes, the plaques, the buttons to press but squares remain – if solid there is diffusion out, leading edges. A recent development is the idea of tastes, selections to be made but there is time to contemplate, no urgency and it does not matter if I don't do them, that someone will. (b) Having started recording again regularly I have noticed more markedly the changes and development of themes and also, having taken the decision to remember ...... I am having more nights with longer bouts of sleeping before I wake for good. From 2 to 3 hours have achieved 6 hours straight sometimes! ID1233(3rd)

(a) Make me take more care about remembering. When writing down the 'symbolism' seems almost too obvious, even banal. In each phase but overall content is raw. There are occasionally old themes but with noticeable differences - which I should look at? Wondering why twice I/we have ignored a small one word item – Syringe in first dream. ‘Suicide’ in last week’s. Etymology of suicide fascinating – cide means many things beside ‘die’ and ..... (self) but also a .... of to sew or stick together.

(b) Waking in night of dream, ... than having them before usual waking time – rest of time sleeping better!

ID1233(4th) (a) The realisation that a dream may first arise several days after an event or emotional ambiance was useful and alerted me to look back - today (Weds Mar 8) a sudden flash showed me meaning or part of today’s dream, related to an ongoing belief of mine, despite common practice and belief otherwise - and to - two days ago - someone suddenly saying “you were right” – a gratifying/uncomfortable position to be in!

(b) Only taking more care to remember.... And feeling disappointed, a mite guilty, if there is a blank.

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A44

ID1237 (a) I have learnt when I dream about other people, I have to look and think about the aspects of all the people in my dreams, to see what aspects of the people represent myself. To help me understand what is troubling me in the present and in my subconscious. I have a few ongoing problems at the moment. I have to be patient. Change and different and new ways doing something takes time. I do feel positive about the future. My life can’t stay the way it used to be, it does not help with my mild bouts of depression I have sometimes. Sharing dreams with the other people in the dreamwork sessions was a very important and valuable experience. Their versions on each person's dreams was fascinating to hear the different life experiences, emotions and personalities. Winter seems to be a very busy time for me to dream. Thinking about this made me remember, I had this same thought some years ago. I am not dreaming as much at the moment. I will make a note of this for future reference as I have with my dreamwork. I will keep on doing the dreamwork, it will benefit my life. If it is a profound dream, I am aware of it in my mind while I am doing the housework. Sometimes I have it all work out before I have lunch.

(b) Wednesday 2nd November I woke up and I could smell something like a flower or perfume, the smell was on the right side. I was confused the smell seemed familiar but then again I couldn't remember what it was. I don't know if I had been dreaming. I remembered in the past a couple of times I woke up to smell of toast cooking. None of my family have toast for breakfast. I have become more aware of how my dreams affect my emotions and moods for the day. Sometimes I can work out the reasons if I feel down or depressed, there are 2 ways I work out the situations. Once I have had lunch I sit down for a break and think about my dream, sometimes it becomes clear what the dream means and the emotions and moods I am experiencing. I do notice once I have worked out the reasons for my emotions and moods I feel a lot better in myself.

ID1246(1st) (a) Other people have similar “problems” (which I knew) but that there are alternate possibilities of release, escape, solutions and understanding. Great curiosity as to how much ECT and leucotomy have influenced me in regard to “disabilities” and general life, including dreams and how much such treatment would reduce and I.Q. (b) More determination to continue with book writing. My interest in psychology has been increased and I would like a deeper understanding of it and its applications.

ID1246(2nd) (a) I was glad to have participated in the sessions and know my input was of use in academia. On a more personal level, it was pleasing also, to be of assistance to a uni graduate.

(b) I take more notice of my dreams and give more consideration to their causes or origins. I recognise, too, that I don't have to find these causes or origins.

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A45

ID1250 (a) A lot of dreams deal with past traumas. However, these recent dreams have been re-framed in a different way in that I find myself not actually in the middle of a past traumatic event, but seeing that event from another perspective. In other words, I have ‘moved on’ and feel less emotion about that event/s. there is an exception in those distressing events, where I have not received adequate de-briefing, which has more impact on my daily life, for example, I do not feel as secure, because I haven't been able to deal with that person or take action when that person wasn't in my life. In many ways my present life is more enriched my taking notice of my dreams and working out their messages. By following through these messages I have improved a number of relationships and have learned a lot about myself.

(b) In the dream about the ‘General’ 19/11/05 I think I was having a dream in a metaphorical way about a person in our dream group. His personal question about whether I dye my hair acutely embarrassed me. At the time I wanted to say to him 'And what colour underpants are you wearing today' to deflect my embarrassment onto him. I could not say this. My repressed anger came out in this dream. ID1252 (a) Thinking more deeply about my relationships, about what is important to me. Remembering the vivid stares and actions – but learning to look a little deeper.

(b) Enjoy sharing and listening with people who hare that interest, and are also prepared to be open. ID1255 (a) Previously I hadn't thought that the day’s events had much bearing on the following dreams that night, but, after participating in the dream workshops, have realised that is not true – not for every dream – but some dreams. These follow-ups in dreams can be very subtle, and only by writing the dreams down on a regular basis, can these subtleties be picked up. I now have more faith in following up the messages in my dreams. Where I have done so, there have been improvements in my life and others. I am amazed that events that happened ten years ago may still be played out in dreams, however, with some closure, so the message for me has been: yes, those events happened, they were fruitful, but now I am not ‘stuck’ in those situations and can view them with a sense of closure.

(b) It is good being part of a dream group because there is time to tease out the meanings and symbolism of dreams. Other people’s view point allows you to ‘see’ the dream in other ways and on different levels. What comes up, too, is the number of universal symbols shared in our dreams. ID1257 (a) Looking deeper, beyond the “facts” and events to the deeper significance and emotions. I really appreciated hearing the contents of other people's dreams and the possible meanings. I felt privileged to share and hear quite personal things from my new acquaintances. Excited about the world of dreams and looking forward to continue exploring them. More is back with emotions. (b) I recall more dreams and take time to recollect them. Looking deeper into myself.

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A46

ID1291

Taking part in dreamwork sessions certainly helped me to see many other ways of interpreting my drams outside of my existing narrow understandings. I only wish I had been able to participate longer in order to fully appreciate and realise the benefits of being a group member. Participating in these groups made me realise just how many dreams people have and has increased my wonder at dreaming and the amazing nature of minds (souls and spirits?) to conjure such powerful images and send such strong messages. I would love to know more. I did feel that, with recording my dreams and then focusing on them during dreamwork sessions, even if my dream wasn't discussed, that I became more distressed about my waking circumstances. My dreams were very much reflecting my waking circumstances that have been very difficult for me emotionally, and expressed my desires for the outcome of those circumstances that were really out of my control. I felt that I was living very much in constant hope and imaginings for how I wanted things to be, as opposed to just sitting with reality. To cease participation in the dream study took that focus away and allowed me to not be so caught up in my thoughts, anxieties, upsets and hopes. This gave me the freedom to think about day-to-day, more superficial things. I even stopped remembering my dreams for a while. I have, just in the past few days, begun dreaming very vividly again, although I am not recording these dreams, they are staying with me during the day.

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A47

DREAMS AND WELL-BEING A48